The Dream Must Go On!
by cartuneslover17
Summary: After Sadness saves Riley, the emotions know it'll be a long healing process. But having each other, they know they can pull through. When Sadness is suddenly given a rare opportunity, the others encourage her to take it. However, relationships will be tested. For both Sadness and Riley. And there it becomes realized that the past isn't always easy to let go. Or be forgiven.
1. VERY Slow Healing

**_I adore Inside Out so much. And, dare I say it, even more than Monsters University. So they're both the BEST! I don't really have to say a lot about how this is WAY better than Frozen. Because a whole lot of you already agree with me. Sadness is best Disney princess! :D_**

 ** _But anyway, this fanfic has been in my head for sometime since seeing the premiere. Just like my post-Monsters University story "Life's a Scream!", this is going to be multi-chaptered (a LOT of chapters). I'd like to thank all of you out there who have read my first ever IO fanfic "Bitterness". I promise you this story will be just as grand. ;)_**

 ** _This takes place after Sadness saves Riley, but before the movie's epilogue. Think about it: the islands of personality undoubtedly took time to be made, and during that it took time for Riley to actually adjust. It's not like a Disney princess movie where the problems just suddenly get solved in a few seconds. In reality it takes longer than that, especially for Riley even after sharing a heartfelt moment with her parents. What is great about Pixar is that they make their films feel so realistic, so relevant to what we deal with in real life. Had they ever thought of a "sequel within the film", this would be it._**

 ** _PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!_**  
_

Sadness and Joy watched as the familial hug resumed, mom's and dad's pained smiles easing their daughter's. Through Riley's eyes the emotions gazed into the sorrowful faces of her parents as they continuously embraced the 11-year-old. They just continued sitting on the floor, clinging to one another as if the end of the world was near (to which was one of many presumptions through Fear's many lists since coming to San Francisco).

Worry, relief, and above all sympathy was silently shared between Riley and her parents. Pain still lingered, and Minnesota was just as greatly missed as before. No doubt that they would continue to contemplate their old home as their days of San Francisco resumed.

But if Joy had learned anything from all this, she knew that they could get through it. After all, she and Sadness had been through a lot these past few days. From being uncertain about the blue emotion's purpose to wondering if they could ever think on a preferred level, Joy had seen the complicated yet meaningful attributes that made up Sadness.

She had been put in Riley's head for a reason. Although crying seemed like the worst thing they could ever do to their child, Joy realized that she had been wrong. So, so wrong.

Although she brought Riley happiness, Joy knew that she needed to be sad just as much as being happy. Without it...well, Riley would have remained what represented that dark essence that took over the console moments before. The yellow emotion still shuddered at the thought, watching everything lose color, with the inability to make their girl feel anything.

She hoped they would never reach a situation like that again. And she knew that was a promise because Sadness would make sure of it.

Their personalities still contrasted, but, for the first time ever, they actually found relevance with each other. And Joy couldn't deny that she herself knew what it meant to feel sad.

Or alone.

Glancing away from the screen, she looked down at the blue emotion. Her heart warmed to witness a genuine smile upon her friend's face, one so sincere and full of life, she almost forgot she was the embodiment of feeling sad.

But they needed sadness. Without it, Riley probably would have never returned. And who knew what would have become of her mind if Joy hadn't thought through. If she didn't realize just how important Sadness was to all of them.

Noticing the yellow emotion looking at her, Sadness cocked her head to the side, staring back in question.

"Joy?" she spoke softly, holding her blue memory core close to her. "Are you okay?"

The leading emotion swallowed, unable to fight back tears as she gazed at her.

"Sadness..." she spoke, her voice shrouded with guilt. "I'm...I'm so sorry about everything...I just thought-"

But the smaller emotion stopped her. Joy peered down at their hands, Sadness' fingers gently gripping her own. Tears sliding down her cheeks, Joy looked back at her, noticing that same empathetic expression she had given Bing Bong when he had been upset; something Joy had failed to acknowledge.

"It's okay," Sadness murmured calmly. "It'll be alright, Joy."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, the golden-skinned emotion knew sincerity when she heard it. Even after all these years, Sadness was willing to push those moments away, only moving toward the future. Now that she realized her true purpose, and that she and Joy were better friends than ever before, all she wanted now was to work alongside her fellow emotions like she was supposed to do.

Speaking of the others, the two were immediately attacked with shaky shoulder rubs and deafening cheers as they were surrounded by red, green, and purple.

"You did it!" Disgust cried, displaying an expression of astonishment as she focused it on Sadness, holding her by the shoulders.

"Oh, you fixed it, Sadness!" Anger chortled, still in disbelief that the disaster that had left them hopeless had suddenly vanished just like that. "You fixed everything! I almost thought we'd never see her stinkin' parents again!"

The teardrop-shaped emotion couldn't help but beam at everyone. She had never received praise before, and the feeling was strange yet incredible. Despite her serene exterior, deep down she was squealing with euphoric bliss. This must have been how Joy felt every time she was applauded for making Riley smile, or when Anger made her feel strong-minded, or Disgust being able to bring out the critic in her, and especially how Fear made Riley more observant.

All their talents were always recognized. And now so was hers.

Her thoughts were halted the moment lanky arms reached behind her, pulling her off the floor. Sadness gasped in alarm, clutching her memory core tighter. She was almost afraid that the memory tube had gone haywire and was taking her away again. But instead she was met with delighted purple eyes as she was hoisted above.

"Oh, you have no idea how relieved I am!" Fear cried, his hands under Sadness' arms and raising her upward.

Sadness just blinked down at him, glasses sliding down the ridge of her nose. She smiled sheepishly, unsure of what to make of this sort of physical contact. But Fear hardly noticed it, his exuberance reaching levels that were almost above Joy's.

The blue emotion felt the wind continuously wrap around her face as the purple emotion swung her around. He felt a little giddy, practically dancing with her while continuing to hold her up.

"Oh, Sadness, you wonderful, wonderful emotion you!" he exclaimed, almost twirling.

He finally stopped, lowering her back down until her toes touched the floor. Hands at her waist, his purple eyes gazed into innocent yet curious blue ones. His smile softened, feeling as if everything was right with the world, and he didn't need to worry about anything.

Fear continuously gazed at her for some time, with Sadness unsure of what to make of it and just smile back.

Until Anger cleared his throat.

"Ahem," the red emotion said, cutting into the long and slightly awkward moment, he and the others having watched them in confusion.

Instantly Fear's eyes widened before he drew his hands away from Sadness. Hiding them behind his back, he chuckled with embarrassment, managing a timid smile in her direction. She was not at all bothered by what had just occurred, simply giving him a nod and a decent grin in return.

"Sadness," Joy called to her. "Riley still needs you."

The blue emotion's head whipped toward the screen, noticing that Riley had just ended the hug with her parents. Instinctively she hurried toward the console with everyone standing behind her. Placing her blue memory core down, she set right to work.

Although she never had many moments with the controls over the years Riley needed to cry, Sadness had salvaged her experience and recalled from the many, many manuals she had read during that time.

Everyone watched the screen, witnessing once more the faces of mom and dad. Although they had just shared their inner feelings with their daughter, it was still a long way before Riley could really move on from Minnesota. After all, it had only been days since they came here, and the pain was still evident as tears still streamed down Riley's face.  
~

Mrs. Andersen reached over and caressed her daughter's cheek, wishing she could do more to ease the hurt. Just earlier she and her husband had been frightened they would never see Riley again. Now they needed to step up and try to make things easier for her as possible. While they missed their home state, they had begun to grow accustomed to California, even see the better aspects in comparison to Minnesota.

But Riley was not like them.

At that moment she realized that Riley had probably not eaten anything since she tried to run away. Managing a tender smile, Mrs. Anderson stroked her daughter's cheek once more.

"Are you hungry?" she asked gently. "Do you want me to cook anything for you?"

"We could order pizza," Mr. Andersen piped in, hoping he was doing a great job in comforting their child. "I...I know that one place might not seem promising, but there are a lot of pizza places here in San Fran."  
~

Sadness paused, her fingers hovering over the controls. Filled with mild uncertainty, she turned to the others, particularly Joy.

"It's okay," she told the blue emotion. "Let's not jump to being too happy right now."

Anger regarded her closely, raising his eyes in amazement. "Wow, never thought I'd hear you say that..."

The yellow emotion chuckled dryly before they watched as Sadness began pressing buttons.  
~

Riley didn't look at her mother, nor her father. Blue eyes glancing down at the floor, she reached down and picked up her backpack. Home was still embedded in her thoughts, along with Meg, her hockey team, and everything else that San Francisco could never have.

"Actually," she murmured, "I'm not really hungry. Can I...can I just go to my room? I just really want to be alone right now."

Although her words were hurting her parents, especially after everything they had been through just now, Riley knew she needed to think for herself at times. Whether they were upset or disappointed that she could turn them down like this, she refused to change her feelings just to placate their own.

It wasn't that she hated them, or was angry with them, she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Somehow they were the only things that could comfort her right now.

If her mother was pained by her response, she was doing a great job of hiding it. Mrs. Anderson turned to her husband, who said nothing and gave a stiff nod in her direction.

"Of course, Riley," he told their daughter in his most soothing tone, hoping his voice didn't crack. "We completely understand."

Before Riley left, her mom did plant a light kiss on her forehead. The young girl thought nothing of it, looking away from them as she trudged toward the stairs and up the steps. Her parents just stood there, watching her leave with broken hearts.  
~

Fear played with his fingers, tensing a little as he and the others witnessed Riley reach her room. Once she closed the door behind her, dropping to her knees alongside her backpack, he couldn't hold back his uncertainty.

"Guys," he spoke carefully, "did you see the way her parents looked when Riley said no?"

Sadness clenched her fists a little, doubt seeping into her very essence as she felt maybe she took it a step too far. She turned to Joy for guidance. The yellow emotion offered a supportive smile, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"It's all painful," she declared to the others, "but it's needed."

"Riley needs time," Sadness managed to speak, looking up at the screen to see the child's tears slowly drying away. "It's...it's going to be a long process."

"No kidding," Disgust mentioned, although it wasn't in that usually snappy, sarcastic tone that sometimes bothered or annoyed the others (mostly Anger).

Instead she sounded more concerned, her large lashes curling as she watched the screen with mild despair. Anger and Fear especially looked on in worry, wondering if the the same Riley born from Minnesota would turn up again.

Of course, things didn't just happen over night. Although Riley was adjusting to her new life in San Francisco, the process would still be painful. She would still yearn for her old home and wish they had never left it.

But if Joy and Sadness knew anything, as they watched Riley slowly close her eyes and force herself to sleep, they would get through this. Riley would get through this.

For a few seconds the screen was blank, the emotions seeing nothing but the inside of Riley's eyelids.

"Funny," Fear observed, squinting, "how come Dream Productions isn't bringing up another one of their tacky Fairy Dream Adventure episodes?"

Joy tightened her lips together, hand never leaving Sadness' shoulder. Gazing at the screen once more, she looked away from it. The golden-skinned emotion carefully directed the blue one away from it. Sadness said nothing, trusting Joy on her instinct as she left the controls alone. The others watched on in confusion, but still followed the two until they were at distance from the console.

"Riley just tried to run away," Joy spoke, her voice authoritative yet compassionate. "This is a big deal for us to think over. Especially for the people who work in Dream Productions."

She couldn't help but smile, although it hurt to do so. Even if the studio wanted to produce a dream for Riley tonight, they just couldn't. Riley just needed a simple rest after everything, and Joy knew that HQ wasn't the only one that cared deeply for their girl.

"So now what?" Anger asked.

They could just go to sleep, especially since there would be no Dream Duty tonight. But none of them were the least bit tired. At least they were all at ease now.

Sadness couldn't help but look up at Joy. She was still blown away from everything that just happened today. It felt like just minutes ago the blue emotion had no idea what she was to do, just traveling aimlessly through Long-Term Memory and idly turning old memories blue. She felt hopeless during that time, wondering what was going on down there in the dump for Joy and Bing Bong-

Her mind halted at that, blue eyes blinking up at her equally blue-haired friend. It was then Sadness scanned across the room, before discovering that familiar candy-patterned satchel lying on the floor.

Squinting at it, she turned back to Joy.

"Where's Bing Bong?" she asked.

Joy's expression faded from lenient to more wretched. Her face fell to the floor, hand slowly sliding off Sadness' shoulder and falling limp to her side.

"Bing Bong?" Fear questioned. "Wait, so that's who I actually saw yesterday while I was on Dream Duty?" He turned to Joy. "He was with you?"

Joy didn't answer him, her attention focusing only on Sadness as she slowly lifted her head to regard her. Those blue eyes stared back in question, shining with so much innocence the yellow emotion almost couldn't tell her.

But Sadness deserved nothing but the truth. And she had been the only one who had comforted Bing Bong during his distressing situation.

Finally, Joy rested both her hands on Sadness' shoulders, kneeling a bit toward the smaller emotion's level. The other emotions stood off to the side, getting the feeling that perhaps the two needed some space.

They watched from a distance as Joy carefully explained everything to the tender-hearted emotion, the light of Riley's mind outside HQ blanketing their silhouettes.

After Joy finished, Sadness immediately fell into her arms, crumpling to her knees as she sobbed into the other emotion's chest. Her tears dripping to the floor, Sadness clung to Joy the way Riley had done to her parents after unveiling her misery of missing home.

Joy held onto to the blue emotion, head resting atop Sadness' as she stroked her back to comfort her. Closing her eyes, she could feel tears accumulating at the sides of her lids. Like a water balloon being overly filled, they slowly bursted, creating a gentle waterfall of tears that slid down the yellow emotion's cheeks.

The others watched on, silent and heartbroken at the sight.  
_


	2. Their Saddening Addition

_**Thank you to the people who are reading this story! I would especially like to thank my friend and co-writer PotterPhantomKitten (who is the author of Radiant and Intercom, and is WarriorSparrow on Deviantart) for helping me work on this story, as I am doing the same for hers (which is Radiant). :)**_

 _ **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!  
_**_

Joy had never realized until today how good it felt to cry. Before, she thought crying served little purpose: an annoyance to everyone at best, and a danger to Riley's physical and social health at worst.

But the past few days had changed all that. She understood just how significant, even vital, Sadness was: to signal when one needed help and comfort. She knew now her friend was incredibly gifted, more so than even Joy.

As she held Sadness in mourning of Riley's beloved imaginary friend, Joy realized that she was grieving for two reasons.

One being Bing Bong's sacrifice.

The other...the other being that she had misjudged Sadness for the past 11 years. All this time, Joy had prevented her teardrop-shaped companion from going near the console, doing everything she could to make those shelves of memory orbs glow with as much gold as possible.

She had been stifling the others—Sadness most of all—this whole time. She had thought she was doing the best for Riley, but it turned out she had been so selfish.

If Joy had continued on such a domineering path...what might have become of Riley then, if worse happened?

Trying to blink away her waterfalls of tears, Joy looked down. "Sadness?"

The blue emotion chanced a look up at the yellow emotion, her glasses fogged up with droplets of tears. "Y-Yeah, Joy?"

Joy sniffled, trying to have her expression and voice show her regretful sincerity. "I'm...I'm so sorry for for everything. I accused you of hurting Riley, but really... after the move, you were trying to help her more than any of us."

Sadness's eyes widened at hearing that. She almost hadn't expected Joy to ever say anything like that to her.

"You helped me see how much you're needed, and Bing Bong helped me get back to allow you to help Riley. If I had just listened—"

It was then that Sadness put her hand on Joy's. "What matters is that you're listening _now_. So we can all help with what Riley needs most."

Sadness looked at where the screen normally was, vanished as Riley had entered her dreamless sleep.

"Healing."

Joy sniffed, almost wishing some image could dance before their eyes and make things more comforting. But, like themselves, the people of Dream Productions needed to put off their own desires and focus mainly on what was best for Riley.

No sweet dreams, just rest.

After a few more moments of silent mourning, both emotions began to relax in each other's arms. Their hearts were still heavy due to the loss of a friend, but they were feeling much more at ease now.

It then occurred to Joy that she and Sadness had lacked sleep for the past few days they had been absent. It was incredibly perplexing that they managed to travel Riley's mind without any shuteye.

Or a meal for that matter.

True, Joy had sampled the salty taste of larger-than-life fries while chasing down a distressed Sadness earlier. But it suddenly popped into the yellow emotion's head that she was harboring for food in her belly. And a _lot_ of it right now.

She peered down at Sadness, the blue emotion's tears having subsided as she aimlessly watched the blank screen. Although she was doing a great job of hiding it, Joy was certain her friend was exhausted and starving after all they had experienced.

It was a preferable moment to placate both those problems as her arms slowly loosened.

"I'm a little hungry," she told her gently. "And I feel like I could sleep for a week. How about you?"

Sadness shyly looked up at her, unable to conceal the bags that were evident under her eyes.

"I could eat," the blue emotion mumbled. "And I am sort of sleepy."

"I got that all taken care of!"

Both turned to see Fear coming down the stairs with a large tray of assorted foods and snacks. Wearing a wide grin, he placed them down on a nearby coffee table. Anger noticed that one of the dishes was a bowl of pretzels. Grinning, he reached over to claim at least one piece.

Disgust immediately smacked his hand away. Pulling it back, the red emotion glared at her while Fear set two cups of coffee on the table.

"Eat up!" the purple emotion insisted cheerfully. "Seriously, I'm worried either of you is going to pass out right now."

Sadness gave him a smile of gratitude, to which he returned with a sheepish one. However, he did notice her expression change the moment she glanced down at her cup of coffee.

"Is something wrong?" he asked nervously. "Did I do something wrong here?"

"No, no," the blue emotion assured him in her usual mellow tone. "It's fine. You...you really didn't have to go through all this, Fear."

She didn't want to dent his pride with the fact she hated coffee. Keeping that her little secret, she forced a tiny smile on her lips, just to keep the one on his face.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all!" he promised, smiling proudly to himself. "I'm always willing to prepare a meal for my friends!"

"Hey, beanpole!" Anger called out. "I'm starving here, too!"

Disgust frowned. "You're forgetting us! Like, rude!"

Before Fear could try and make a decent response, Joy popped in front of them smiling her usual cheery self.

"Hey, hey, relax!" she told them, especially at Anger. "There's plenty for everyone! Let's all just eat, alright?"

She reached over and took Anger's hand, the latter flinching a little at suddenly being touched. He tried not to growl, especially as Joy dragged him over to the table with everyone gathering around it.

Fear had prepared a variety to which everyone was impressed by (although some sickened Disgust, given that her appetite did _not_ consist of anything that had lettuce in it...or something that smelled like a dumpster to her nostrils): mini sandwiches, cheese curls and other chips in small bowls, lemon squares, corn (to which Disgust would truly avoid) and even after-dinner mints.

"Mints?" Anger asked, almost offended. He often thought those things were just so meaninglessly contributed in a restaurant; that they ruined the after-taste of a good steak and fries.

"I'm just being a good provider here!" Fear retorted.

Sadness idly swished the coffee in her cup, trying not to grimace. She then put it down before placing a hand on Fear's side, causing the latter to look down at her.

"It's perfect," she told him sincerely. "Thank you, Fear."

The purple emotion gave her an appeased smile, that same proudness returning on his face. As everyone surveyed the tray, trying to decide which to decide first. Sadness settled for a lemon square, lightly nibbling on it.

However, she lost her sense of appetite the moment Joy began to please hers.

The yellow emotion wasted no time grabbing food off plates and shoving them into her mouth. She grabbed a sandwich, it was down her throat like a garbage disposal; and Joy's grunts made it sound like one as well. She clawed handfuls of chips and slapped them into her mouth, the crunches far louder than metal. And when it came to the lemon squares, she grabbed more than three pieces before tearing at them like a predator with its carcass, and bits of lemon zest flew in all directions.

The others just gawked at the sight. They knew Joy was hungry, they didn't think she would abandon all manners for her stomach. Disgust took a step back while Anger just raised his eyes toward the sight. Fear winced, edging away from Joy and a little close to Sadness, who placed down her barely eaten lemon square.

The blue emotion felt almost nauseous, watching as Joy drank her coffee in large gulps. The liquid trekked down the side of her lips, but the golden-skinned emotion didn't even care as she grabbed another sandwich.

Sadness blinked, feeling almost as if she were watching a movie on fast-forward. Joy was always such a hyper bouncy ball of energy, and with that amount of boundless energy combined with a lack of food, it was no wonder she was so hungry.

She _did_ wish Joy would slow down a little though...

Disgust's face scrunched up as she flicked a stray bit of sandwich away that had landed on her face. "Joy, did you lose your manners down there or something?"

"Nope!" Joy exclaimed with her mouth full of food (which caused Disgust to step back so as not to risk being pelted with any more stray particles). "Just super hungry!"

"By the looks of it," Anger said with a grimace, taking a sandwich for himself before Joy could snatch it, "you almost seem to get _more_ energy when you're hungry!"

"Well," Fear added, quickly picking out a few cheese curls for himself one by one, "technically you do feel more tired when you have a full stomach so—"

The red emotion looked like he was on the verge of punching him, causing the nerve-like being to flinch as a reflex and nearly drop his snack.

"If we want a health lecture, we'd go to health class!" Anger growled.

"Sorry," Fear said in a hasty apology. He turned his gaze over to Joy, who at the very least seemed to be slowing down a bit after her fourth sandwich. Or was it her fifth? He wasn't sure at this point.

He honestly couldn't blame her though, none of them could. Whatever had happened down there in the recesses of Riley's mind the past few days had caused some sort of change in Joy. It seemed that food was a great way to help comfort her after the ordeal she and Sadness had been through.

Maybe Fear could take advice from Sadness as to what foods would be best "comfort foods". After all, chocolate could only do so much for them...

But seeing Sadness actually smile for once, Joy seeming to have regained her spunk, and Anger actually enjoying his food and not wanting to set something on fire relieved Fear. The purple emotion felt that things were at least starting to look up from the pit of a downward spiral, one that they had been falling deeper into ever since the move.

Now they had their chance to climb out and help make things right. It would take time, true, but there was confidence among the emotion group that things could improve, for Riley and themselves.

Fear resigned himself contentedly to the energetic chaos that brought life back to headquarters that was long-welcomed, munching on a chip and scooting closer to Sadness. He saw Joy smile at the blue emotion too, the golden-skinned girl offering her companion part of yet another sandwich she had been about to devour herself.

Sadness, much preferring this over coffee, accepted the offer with a grateful nod and murmur of thanks, to which Joy gave her a thumbs up.

With the five of them back together again, the emotions made a promise to themselves that, when morning came, they'd be able to resume their job of what they did best: helping Riley.

And this time, they would let Sadness take charge when she felt she was really needed.

After all the food was gone, Joy and Sadness were so full they nearly passed out on the couch. After missing so much sleep, the two could hardly move toward the stairs to their bedrooms.

The other three emotions watched as they laid on the couch. Fortunately there was no Dream Duty, because any of them who was to take it would accidentally wake Joy or Sadness in the process. They couldn't help but smile, watching as Joy sat back with her head leaning onto the arm of the couch. Sadness slept in that same position she often made when she was having a particularly "overly sad" moment, her cheek pressed onto the cushions.

It was Disgust who brought out the blankets, placing them over the slumbering forms of her friends. Although to most it seemed like a rare thing for someone like her to ever do. But the green emotion was certain she would provide a little extra work for her friends. Like right now.

"Should we stay with them?" Fear asked, eyes looming from Joy to Sadness.

"This ain't a sleepover!" Anger snapped at him. "Look, let's leave them alone. They've been through enough. We'll check on them in the morning when Riley wakes up."

The purple emotion played with his fingers. "When Riley wakes up...she's still not going to feel good, is she?"

Both Disgust and Anger glanced in his direction. The three of them had been watching over their kid for the past few days. During that time, they had seen how she had handled changes, followed by interaction with her parents, like at dinner.

No doubt those same things would occur again, especially since Joy seemed so persistent now that happiness needed a break. Riley was going to show her more uncertain side, followed by the displeasure to interact with San Francisco itself.

Or her parents.

What happened downstairs was just the start for them. Now that mom and dad were aware of her true feelings for this city, they couldn't react like what happened at dinner. They needed to understand their own daughter was not as accepting to the new home as they already were.

They needed to understand Riley needed solitary time. Her space. That especially went for school. The three still awake emotions recalled how she had eaten lunch by herself the day after Goofball Island had fallen apart.

Making friends wasn't as easy as one believed. Especially when that person really didn't want to make new friends right now. Meg was not here, nor was any of Riley's teammates.

Friendship Island, Hockey Island, every island was gone except for the new Family Island. That was the only thing that would make up Riley's personality right now. The rest would take time.

But they were up for it. All of them.

Although Riley was still hurting, and still desired to just be on her own, they knew they could pull through this one way or another.

"No," Anger muttered, his usually hardened expression softening a little. "But that's alright. Tomorrow will be pretty weird, I guess, but at least we got our kid back safe and that's all that matters."

Disgust looked at him carefully, folding her arms. "Last time we're ever going to ask you to give Riley an idea."

The red emotion glared up at her. "Hey, zip it, seaweed head! I regret what I did, alright? No need to bring it up!"

"Just a statement for future reference," the green emotion snapped as they slowly went up the steps toward their sleeping quarters.

Fear made one glance back at the two slumbering emotions of the couch, then proceeded after his friends.

Maybe tomorrow would be better.  
_

The next morning, Joy felt her consciousness shift back to the waking world. Not opening her eyes right away, at first she felt perplexed by what she was laying on. It didn't feel like her head was on her perfectly-plushy pillow, nor was her body surrounded by the gentle wrapped water of her bathtub bed. She stretched her foot up and out, trying to feel around for where she was.

"Ow..."

Joy's eyes shot open, energy of the morning fully coming to her as her consciousness was jolted out of sleep, the light that signified Riley's wakefulness shining in her eyelids.

The first thing she realized was that she was laying on the couch in the main console room. The second thing she realized was that her foot had nearly whacked Sadness in the face.

The golden emotion's eyes widened, and she scrambled to her side of the couch, waking up immediately. "Oh, my gosh, Sadness! Are you okay?"

The blue emotion groggily sat up, rubbing her cheek and pushing up her glasses. "Well...I'm up."

The smile that manifested on Sadness's face instantly relieved Joy. It wasn't the kind of sarcastic expression she would get from Disgust, followed by an irritated quip. The look on her friend's face was warm, genuine, and harbored no ill will.

That was one thing that Joy—and hopefully the others as well—were starting to realize about Sadness: she spoke what she thought when it was something she could express, and she never seemed to hold a grudge. Even during their adventure together, the teardrop-shaped emotion had never sent a hostile glare in Joy's direction.

Only concern. A concern that Joy only wished she had appreciated before.

Joy helped her companion to stand, hearing the other emotions start to come down from upstairs. "You ready for the day?"

"I think so," Sadness admitted. She then glanced up at Joy with an uncertain look behind her large glasses. "Can I...can I really take charge of the console this time?"

Joy placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning down a bit to her level. "Sadness, Riley needs you now more than any of us. You deserve this."

The look of hope on Sadness' lit up face reminded Joy of her expression back on the first day of school. "Really?"

Joy smiled down at her. "Really.". She patted her companion on the back and led her toward the console. "You ready?"

As the others came down the ramp, Sadness looked toward them, then the screen of Riley's eyes, and finally at Joy. With a solemn look, Sadness nodded.

The other three emotions witnessed their teardrop-shaped friend confidently stroll over to the console. None of them were questioning the sight, knowing that a lot had changed since Joy's and Sadness' faces smacked right into HQ's window. In fact, the three were smiling with gratitude, relieved the blue emotion was taking over.  
~

The moment Riley woke up, she had hoped she was lying on her bed, surrounded by her hockey posters. She had especially hoped outside her window was the sunny morning that was Minnesota.

However, as soon as she was met with chipped walls and her sleeping bag, Riley wished she had never woken up. She would have rather remained in a dreamless sleep than be reminded she was in San Francisco.  
~

Sadness glanced up at the screen, her fingers caressing the main button, causing the entire console to lighten with blue. The others joined behind her, watching as Riley gazed at her surroundings with dejection.

"Look, I'm glad Riley's back here safe," Anger muttered, tapping his fingers upon the console. "But this room still stinks! And that stupid truck with our stuff is nowhere closer to coming over here!"

They watched as Riley reached for her backpack, which she had never emptied since coming to her bedroom. After she unzipped it, she pulled out her laptop before sitting down cross-legged.

"At least we had the laptop with us during the car trip," Fear mentioned nervously, keeping some distance between him and the fuming emotion.  
~

Riley slowly opened it before gazing at the familiar webpage. The bus schedule and everything made her bite her lip. She couldn't even look away when a new time popped up, informing when the next bus to Minnesota would be.

Disgust and Fear turned toward Anger, the former rather accusingly which caused Joy and Sadness to look at him as well. Of course, the yellow and blue emotions were more in question than contempt as their green friend.

"Oh, come on!" the red emotion raged, the top of his head nearly enflamed.

Joy reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him down.

"Anger, relax," she told him gently. "No one holds it against you. You were only doing what you thought was right."

The red emotion gritted his teeth tightly, then regarded the delicate golden hand that laid on his shoulder. Looking up at Joy, the flames that threatened to emerge somehow disintegrated. Letting out a loud sigh, he placed his own hand upon hers. Not to fling it off or anything, he would never do that with her, but rather just to know this was, indeed, comforting physical contact.

Even though he mostly hated it, but he wouldn't bring that up right now. Especially when Joy was assuring him.

Joy offered him a silent smile before both looked toward the screen. Disgust and Fear leaned from behind Sadness as the blue emotion kept her hands on the controls.

The screen that was Riley's eyes turned toward the door the moment they heard a click.  
~

Riley made sure the bus schedule page had been closed the moment her mother's head slowly poked into the bedroom.

"Good morning, sweetie," Mrs. Andersen greeted.

Although she was smiling, Riley and her emotions could tell she sounded a little concerned. Followed by a hint of anxiety in her voice.

Riley forced a smile, but it didn't last long as she closed her laptop.

"Morning," she murmured, eyes wandering from her mother to her lap.

The brunette woman slowly opened the door all the way, revealing to have not changed from the sweater she wore yesterday. She studied her daughter carefully, unsure of what to say next.

"I...I called your teacher," she told Riley gently. "You don't have to go to school today."

That caused the blonde child to look up at her, blue eyes raising in surprise.

"I said you weren't feeling well," Mrs. Andersen explained. "And don't worry, I didn't mention one thing about how you..." Her voice trailed off, unable to allow those certain words off her tongue.

Thankfully, she didn't need to say more as Riley offered a nod.

"Okay," her daughter muttered. "Thanks...I guess..."  
~

"Oh, thank gosh!" Disgust exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "No school! Now Riley doesn't have to deal with that dull teacher of hers or eat gross lunch from the cafeteria!"

Joy ignored her as she laid a hand on Sadness' shoulder. The latter looked up at the golden-skinned emotion curiously.

"Let's try to get through breakfast without any more awkwardness with mom and dad," she told her friend. "I'm pretty sure Riley wants more of her space."

Sadness nodded before working the buttons and switches.  
~

"Coming to breakfast?" Mrs. Andersen asked hopefully.

Riley was silent for a moment. Her mother was almost afraid she would hear no more out of her than she did last night.

"Yeah," Riley replied, sounding rather despondent. "I'm coming."

Soon the screen began to move as Riley followed behind her mom. The stairs were almost like falling into a pit as Riley trudged down each step.

Riley's eyes fell on that single table, the dining room looking more dilapidated than ever before. None of the emotions made one comment about the house. After all, their stuff was still missing, and Mr. Andersen promised the house _would_ get refurbished.

Speaking of her dad, he was sitting at the table, newspaper in front of him with a cup of coffee. As soon as he spotted Riley, he almost wanted to rush over and give her a hug. But he held himself back, not wanting to frighten her in that rather despondent state of hers; she still looked the same as she did last night.

Both parents looked at one another momentarily as Riley sat down. Mrs. Anderson went over and grabbed that special box of cereal from the kitchen counter. She just remembered how Riley had fallen in love with the stuff days ago. It still astounded the woman that something coated with caramel was healthy for kids; she never found anything like it back in Minnesota.

But she made sure not to mention their old state as she set the box down before Riley. She placed a bowl and spoon in front of her as well, before sitting beside her husband. Both tried not to glance at their daughter every second as she just poured a small amount into her bowl. It was then Mrs. Andersen forgot the milk and quickly got up from her seat.

Pouring it into Riley's cereal, she was disheartened when her daughter still remained silent. She said nothing as she picked up her spoon.

That expression of giddiness she displayed the first time she tried the cereal was not present. Instead, Riley just ate, her face unchanging. Even when she took a moment to savor the caramel goodness, the smile was short and lacked any real joy.

Mr. Andersen couldn't focus on his newspaper, watching his daughter just eat. Finally, he cleared his throat.  
~

"Uh-oh..." Fear swallowed. "What's dad up to..."

"Maybe he's going to tell us there are rats in the kitchen," Disgust scoffed. "Probably explains why mom's new San Fran recipes are gross."

"Maybe he got fired," Anger muttered.

"Guys!" Joy hushed them.

Sadness remained unaffected by what she saw on the screen. Whatever it was, she would make sure Riley would be okay.  
~

"Riley," Mr. Andersen began.

When she looked up, she noticed he was giving her a tender smile.

"Say, kiddo," he began, trying to sound cheerful, "how about we all go to the park? Maybe play some ball and enjoy the sun?"

Riley fiddled with her spoon, looking at him in confusion. "They have parks here in San Francisco?"

The question baffled her parents. But they knew she was yet to see the popular city for what it truly was. So far she had only witnessed the Golden Gate bridge, but they were positive there were other things that would impress her just as much.

"Of course they do," Mrs. Andersen said, chuckling a little. "The brochures say Californian parks are so beautiful. And here in San Francisco, it's just gorgeous."

Riley's dad grinned at her. "So how about it, kiddo? Want to spend this day off from school doing some hardcore family fun?"  
~

Disgust made a face, leaning back. "Uh, hardcore family fun? Is he joking right now? There is no way Riley is going out in public with mom and dad!"

Before she could even reach for the controls, Joy stopped her. Just as the green emotion was about to retort, the yellow one jerked her head in Sadness' direction.

Disgust's expression softened. To Anger and Fear, she looked rather remorseful even.

She said nothing, averting her gaze as Sadness took over Riley's next response.  
~

The blonde girl was silent, taking all this in. She loved her parents so much and she really appreciated their efforts.

But this all seemed so fast and she honestly didn't want to play sports right now. And she quit hockey, certain her love of it was left behind back in Minnesota.

"Actually," she said slowly, "can I just go out by myself? I think I'd rather just go for a walk. I'll do a little exploring of my own probably."

Riley's parents both looked at their daughter in surprise. But it wasn't long before their expressions softened into that concerned but caring understanding that they had showed to her the night before.

They wanted to try to reform their bond with Riley, but both realized that a typical family outing wasn't the right way to go at this point. It would take time for Riley to adjust. Much more so than for the both of them.

However, for a moment they feared if they allowed Riley to go by herself, there would be a chance she would run away again. But other voices in their heads assured that she would never do that, last night's events repeatedly playing in their minds.

"Of course you can go, Riley," Mr. Andersen said quietly, a pained smile on his face. "Just...be safe, okay?"

"And please call us at least one," Mrs. Anderson added in a solemn tone.

Riley could sense the hurt in her father's voice once more. Her mother's was evidence that she felt the same way from their daughter's rejection. But despite Riley's ongoing despondence and refusal to spend time with them, they knew they could not just ask for their "happy girl" back.

And she probably might not ever return depending on how things would carry on...

Riley just nodded, saying nothing as she finished her breakfast. She didn't even look at her parents as she rose from her seat, making sure her phone and wallet were in her pockets.

Heaving out the door, there was no goodbye kiss, not even a wave. Just shutting the door behind her without looking back, to which her parents watched, their hearts breaking once again.  
_

As Riley walked through the streets of San Francisco, Sadness worked diligently at the console, only gesturing vaguely to the others whenever their emotional responses were needed.

Joy, when the Golden Gate Bridge came into view again. Or Disgust when they passed that Yeast of Edin place that served only one kind of pizza a day; maybe today it wouldn't be broccoli. Anger, when some jerk on a skateboard rode past, nearly colliding with Riley (he had to fight the urge to use that "curse word" during the transaction). And Fear, when some stray dogs were in Riley's direction, and he had to make sure she was nowhere near touching them.

But even with those memories, the resulting colors of the memory orbs more often than not had a touch of blue to them, the colors blending like a marble.

None of the others protested, not even Anger. Sadness was simply doing the job she was meant for all along, expressing when something was wrong and support was needed.

Internal support was the best the emotions could give. The steps were likely to be harsh at times, true, but Joy hoped that eventually things would get better. Or at the very least Riley would be able to tolerate San Francisco.

But even though Joy's optimism for the future often acted like a fast-forward button rendering everyone else in slow-mo, she had to admit that in situations like this, a funny dance and "stay happy" attitude weren't exactly the best way to go.

In fact, it could be one of the worst things.

Riley took a deep breath, able to smell a little bit of the salty water that wafted from the air, the wind carrying it. She tried to tell herself that this was one pleasant thing to put on a list of "Good Things About San Francisco".

But the attempt at that happy thought faded as well, Sadness calling up a memory.

Riley remembered the smell of the forested trees that were around both her house and the lake where she and her parents used to skate on and play hockey. Not even the smell of the beach could compare to the natural scents she was used to.

It reminded her of those times she would sit outside on the swingset and rock back and forth as the breeze flew by, gazing at one of the towering cities that could be seen several miles away from her home suburbia.

She missed those times, those moments of relaxation where she felt free to just imagine and dream big (and send quite a few things to form in Imagination Land in the process).

There were some things nice about San Francisco. But it wasn't Minnesota and it never would be.

Joy dared herself to place a hand on Sadness' shoulder, prompting the teardrop-shaped emotion to look up. The yellow emotion's expression was pained as she noticed the barest hint of tears forming in Riley's vision like water on a glass pane. But at the same time her expression was understanding.

Riley needed to let out her feelings if she was ever going to truly get better.

The emotions watched as Riley trekked down the pathway connected to the sandy beach beside her. Hands in her pockets, her vision drank in the various people who were having a great time. Californians who surfed the waves, got perfectly tanned in the sun, or enjoyed the piers that provided food, fun, and luxury.

The sight of gift shops that sold actual things from the ocean intrigued Disgust. Although she was a little unnerved that some things like crab shells and dry starfishes were literally from the ocean, the beauty made her think otherwise.

Back in Minnesota, the beaches were often quiet, none of this noise Riley was hearing right now. All around her people were chatting, laughing, texting, and eating their ice cream cones loudly. In her old state, the only sounds she heard were the waves, and she hardly ever seen a crab outside its domain. The gift shops back there were often hand-crafted to look realistic.

She stood to the side as kids her age went in and out of the shops, buying souvenirs while texting on their phones. The girls especially looked pretty, like that one with her long dark hair and green eyes, sporting a blue shirt and jeans. And here Riley was with her black hoodie from the night before...

" _OMG_!" Disgust exclaimed, watching as the raven-haired girl rushed away with her friends. "The outfits here are cute! How did I not notice that before?"

Sadness couldn't help but smile, seeing her green friend becoming impressed once in a while. She herself had to admit the beaches were a lot more lively than back in Minnesota. And with people around, Riley would be more safe and secure.

Slowly lifting her hands from the console, the blue aura that surrounded it faded. She turned to her friends, who looked surprised (Fear looked frightened, actually), especially Joy.

"Something wrong, Sadness?" the yellow emotion asked nervously.

The teardrop-shaped being offered them all a gentle, loving smile. She shook her head.

"Nothing's wrong," she assured them like a mother to a worrisome child. "I think we can leave Riley alone for now."

She gestured toward the screen. Through their kid's eyes, she was simply drinking in the actual beauty that was of a San Franciscan beach. The view was honestly too nice to turn away from. And Riley hardly moved as she sat upon a nearby rock, its surface smooth enough for her to relax on.

There didn't need to be anything to be happy about. Or grossed out about. Or even be angry, sad, or scared about.

Riley could just relax, and just think.

Soon the emotions were sitting on the couch, gazing through her eyes as the sight of those crashing waves enticed them. Even Disgust hadn't made one glance at her nails during the time.

"I can't believe people can actually make money off finding stuff in the water," she commented. "As gross as that is...that's some quick cash right there."

"Hey, is Riley going to have lunch anytime soon?" Anger asked, leaning his head back against the couch. "Because if she's eating by herself, the food here don't look too bad. At least I hope not."

As the others talked among themselves, Joy sat cross-legged by her blue-colored companion. Sadness sat back with her legs splayed in front of her. Belly slightly tucked out, she and Joy were drinking in the view as much as Riley was.

Both glanced at one another. No words needed to be said as they simply smiled, then looked back toward the screen.

Fear was about to say something to either of them. However, the moment he opened his mouth, a loud banging erupted through HQ.

He let out a terrified yelp, arms flinging around before he hopped onto the closing thing he could cling to.

Which turned out to be Anger.

"What was that?" the purple emotion exclaimed, barely realizing his hands were wrapped around the tiny frame that was the red emotion himself.

Anger growled, glaring daggers at him. The top of his head was crisping with orange flakes, wanting to burn Fear on the spot.

"Get off of me!" he shouted, shoving the worrisome nerve out of his space.

Fear stumbled to the ground, having difficulty getting up as his head whipped around HQ.

Sadness turned her head to the side. "I think that was the front door."

Disgust and Joy looked at her in utter confusion, as if the word was completely foreign to them.

"We have a front door?" the green emotion asked.

"I always knew we did," Joy mentioned sheepishly. "Although I forgot where it was. We've hardly ever had company over here."

"I'll go get it-" Sadness offered.

"No, no!" the yellow emotion assured her, gently holding the blue emotion back. "Allow me!"

The glass-sporting girl was rather doubtful of her friend, especially since Joy had never read one manual. But she knew the other blue-haired emotion just wanted to contribute the tiniest bit, and save Sadness the trouble. After all, she had been on the console since last night, and no doubt she was going back to it when Riley was done gazing at the ocean.

"Okay!" Joy said cheerfully as she wandered off. "Now where's that door?"

The others watched as she stopped in front of a wall. Her body stiffened, feeling rather ridiculous. She whipped herself around, forcing a smile as she walked in the opposite direction.

"Okay, door's not there!" she said, trying to keep her confidence intact.

Sadness played with her fingers timidly, watching her friend go from one wrong place to another. She wanted to voice out where exactly the door was, but she decided Joy needed to figure this out on her own. Like that time with the "shortcut".

"Okay, not here..." the yellow emotion muttered.

She was about to turn and hit her side against the console, nearly toppling over. She quickly picked herself up, smiling wearily at the others. No one said a word, not wanting to dent Joy's pride more than it already was.

"I think it's over-" she began hurriedly, running toward another end of the room. "No, wait, I was just here..."

The banging got louder, making Fear nervous, Disgust irritated, Anger wishing to just punch a wall, and Sadness worried for her friend.

"Okay..." Joy muttered, rubbing her scalp. "Maybe I don't exactly got this..."

"Hey, is anyone home?" called a voice belonging to none of the others.

Her head whipped toward beneath the stairs. Toward the platform where deliveries were often sent through a wide doorway. Banging echoed from outside it.

"Oh, what?" she exclaimed in shock. "How could I have missed that?"

"That's where our deliveries are made," Sadness spoke up. "There's always a door right next to the mail slot."

Joy rubbed her face, feeling even more like an idiot. However, she gave her friend a worn out smile, grateful for her assistance even though it came too late.

"Let me guess," she said rather teasingly, "the manuals?"

"I'll go get it and show you," the blue emotion replied as she walked off toward the small library. "You just go answer the door."

Once she left, Joy glanced toward the base for where their packages were always brought. She scratched her head, wondering how exactly she was supposed to answer the door.

Frankly, Joy felt bewildered that she had never noticed the door before. How many times had she grabbed a bulb delivered from the Idea Fields and placed it in the console, with the door being right there in plain sight?

It was like her own mind had edited it out from her sight like what was done with the nose—a fact that Fear found out to be the freakiest thing ever. How could something be there and the mind declare it "Not Important: Forget It!" until it was paid attention to?

Maybe that was the case with her own blindness to how badly she had treated Sadness...

She could see some figure trying to peek through the window at the door. Wondering who in the world could be coming here—though the timing was impeccable, since they weren't needed for Riley right now—she managed to discover the knob for probably the first time ever.

She opened the door to greet whoever their visitor was.

Joy was met with two Mind Workers who both bore a dark transparent shade of blue. She couldn't remember the last time these people had arrived at HQ, mainly because the emotions had wanted the place to be spruced up a bit. It was probably when Riley turned 8 and Disgust demanded her bedroom to be redecorated.

However, the moment Joy noticed the black belts and officer caps, her yellow complexion paled.

"Oh..." her voice trailed off, eyes widening.

She was unsure of what to say, especially since she and Sadness had crossed paths with these officers at least twice. Joy was certain that they must be here to "discuss" the chaos that occurred back in Dream Productions, especially with the involvement of a certain terrifying clown.

Behind her stood Anger, Disgust, and Fear, all regarding the guards with surprise. For the purple emotion, he was chewing on his nails, worried someone was going to end up arrested. Police officers sometimes made him nervous.

For a moment, the two guards peered at Joy, as if studying her. However, their questionable expressions slowly transformed into ones of utter delight.

"Hey, Flora!" the one with the large mustache called over his shoulder rather excitedly. "They _are_ home!"

Joy blinked in confusion, wondering what exactly was going on if she wasn't going to be reprimanded. However, she didn't have time to question the moment a plum-colored Mind Worker with sparkling purple hair, glasses, and a brown coat came into view.

It was the director from Dream Productions.

The yellow emotion swallowed, unable to find her voice even as the woman beamed at her.

"Oh, thank Imagination we found you!" the director known as Flora exclaimed.

"Um, okay?" Joy said uneasily, becoming even more confused.

"Uh, can we come in?" Flora asked, gesturing toward the interior of HQ.

Joy blinked, before looking over her shoulder toward her three friends. They all just shrugged, Anger appearing rather reluctant to have uninvited guests over.

"Of course," the yellow emotion responded quickly before motioning the three to enter.

Her heart just beginning to steady, she let out a deep breath she didn't know she had, still feeling uncertain as the Mind Workers came into their base.

"Um, hey," Joy began, "about what happened at Dream Productions-"

"That's exactly why I'm here," Flora cut in, grinning.

Joy felt her insides squirm. "Well, I'm so sorry we wrecked your set last night. We just really needed Riley to wake up so we could take the train to-"

The purple-haired Mind Worker raised a hand, stopping Joy in mid-sentence. She didn't appear the least bit mad over what had happened to her work the night before. Her smile never changed as she regarded Joy in a friendly manner.

"It's fine," she told the emotion.

Joy stared at her. "What? You mean...after we had Jangles crash through the studio...you're not angry?"

Fear, standing to the side with the others, as the Subconscious Guards watched, overheard this. His eyebrows raised. No wonder a fear of Riley's had suddenly popped into her mind despite how many years it had been!

"Okay, I was a little angry about that," Flora admitted. "However, it got me thinking."

She pulled out a lightbulb from the pocket of her quote. Making her way toward the console, she found the special port where bright ideas were inserted.

Joy's eyes widened, realizing what Flora was about to do.

"Um, wait!" she called, stopping the Mind Worker. "What are you doing?"

"Showing off images taken back at the studio," the director responded nonchalantly.

"But...but..." Joy stammered. "If you show them through the screen, Riley will see them!"

Flora glanced toward the blank screen, the San Franciscan beach breathtaking to her. She shrugged at the emotion.

"It's not exactly the weirdest thing Riley's seen so far," she assured Joy. "Trust me, seeing pictures of _you_ won't bother her too much."

The golden-skinned emotion froze as Flora said that.

Riley? Seeing something within her _mind_? Possibly taking an actual look at what one of her emotions looked like? That was if she did believe those were her emotions...

Was that even _allowed_?

Joy didn't have time to question as Flora inserted her bulb into the port.

Soon, images of everything that happened in the studio came flashing onto the screen. Seemed the camera workers had done a great job, having taken a shot of every moment that occurred on the set. From when the dream was just beginning, right to the point where Jangles came crashing in...  
~

Riley blinked, breaking away from the view of the beach. Her mind suddenly felt jumbled, odd pictures crossing her vision.

Not entirely sure if they were a blur or not, they seemed almost familiar. But her thoughts were completely mixed as she didn't even remember last night's dream. Except for the clown, nothing else.

However, the images in her head kept showing not just that unicorn she dreamed most nights. She thought she saw a little yellow person. Followed by a blue one and a pink one.

That last one made her ponder a bit more.  
~

The red, green, and purple emotions approached the console, staring up at the screen. They had yet to question Joy and Sadness what exactly happened outside HQ.

The pictures themselves gave them more answers than they expected.

"The dog was you?" Fear cried, pointing at one image. "You scarred Riley doing that... _thing_?"

Joy rubbed her arms sheepishly, glancing at a few others pictures. She couldn't help but admire the ones of Rainbow Unicorn; she wished she had seen that dream.

"Uh, Jangles!" Disgust gagged, seeing that painted face and scary green eyes come into view. "I thought I'd never see that guy again!"

"Yeah, the guards managed to take care of him," Flora mentioned, gesturing to the officers standing aside. "It wasn't easy, and we're still shaken up by it. But at least he's back in the Subconsciousness where he'll terrify no one with his balloon animals and cheesy slapstick humor."

Joy spotted a few pictures showing her face. She really liked how the workers captured her perfectly. She couldn't help but grin as she flashed her happy smile while donning the dog costume. Or the way she ran, dress twirling, as she and Sadness made a run for the train.

However, it still didn't answer why exactly the director of Dream Productions was here in HQ.

"I still don't understand," Joy said, turning to Flora. "What's this all have to do with you here?"

Flora's expression softened. "Look, last night got me thinking. _Rainbow Unicorn's Fairy Dream Adventures_ are great."

"Yeah, right..." Fear muttered to himself, averting his gaze to the floor.

"But Riley deserves something different," she went on. "We'll still have the _Fairy Dream_ episodes going, but we want to give her something with a little more...heart."

She carefully took ahold of the controls. Joy almost wanted to stop her, worried she might not realize she was tinkering with their kid's mind. But Flora seemed to know exactly what she was doing as she used one of the switches like a mouse and zoomed into one image in particular.

Joy looked up. It was the image of when she first met Rainbow Unicorn. She would forever treasure that moment; but she still wished she could have gotten an autograph.

"RU mentioned to us about a certain emotion who talked to her that day," Flora explained. "When we saw the images of that certain emotion, it made me think further over what Dream Production really needs."

Joy slowly nodded, trying to piece together where exactly this was going.

"She said she was kind of taken by the niceness and sincerity that certain emotion had showed," Flora resumed. "True, it was only a few words, but RU as well as myself noticed that the emotion in particular seemed to show something. Something so special that the emotion didn't even notice it herself."

Joy's heart quickened. She had a feeling she knew where this was going...and she was growing excited.

"And when we talked about it, it made me think 'Huh, this beautiful lady with the blue hair and blue eyes seems interesting...'."

Joy was unable to contain herself, feeling the suspenseful atmosphere growing stronger.

"Uh-huh..." she murmured, nodding vigorously.

"And we really want some new person coming in to liven up our works, maybe throw in her own ideas..."

It was then Joy immediately let out a scream. Not a terrified scream like the one Fear emitted as he hunched over, arms over himself. It was more of an excited, fangirl-meeting-celebrity kind of scream. Everyone else leaned away, wincing and covering their ears as Joy's voice nearly broke glass.

Flora stood back, her side pressed to the console as she watched the emotion continue to scream. Her lips tweaked in an uneasy frown, eyes hardly blinking.

After Joy finally stopped screaming, she rushed over and shook Flora's hand. The Mind Worker could barely feel her arm, with the way Joy gripped it and handled it like a jumprope in action.

"I would be honored to star in your upcoming dreams!" the yellow emotion cried.

Before Flora could say anything, Joy was already in the zone, imagining everything at the studio with her inclusion.

"Okay, I will have to try and balance between here and Dream Productions," she rambled, "but that's okay! It's not like Riley actually needs me 24/7!"

She turned to her three friends, who all just stared at her, unable the believe what was going on.

"And my friends can come too!" she continued happily. "They can work as recurring characters for all the dreams I'll star in!"

Flora wrung her hands nervously. "Uh, Joy..."

"I hope I'll be part of _Fairy Dream Adventures_ too," the emotion added. "I mean, then Rainbow Unicorn and I can actually talk, and a talk with her is all I ask for!"

"Joy-"

"I might need a new dress if I'm going to star in my first ever dream," she stated, hands smoothing over her outfit. "But then again, if Riley's actually going to see me, she'll have to see my favorite outfit and-"

 _ **"JOY!"**_

The emotion stopped, then turned to Flora. The director gritted her teeth, eye twitching as she tried to keep herself composed. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Joy. Her expression appeared rather remorseful.

"I wasn't talking about you," she said gently.

It felt like an anvil fell on her foot as Joy just stared at Flora. The image of her walking down that aisle, showered with adoration as she waved to her fans, immediately came crashing down.

 _"What?"_ she gasped. "But then who-"

Flora sighed. "The cute blue-haired, blue-eyed lady I was talking about is-."

"Oh, Joy!"

Everyone turned the moment a certain blue emotion came into view. Having gone to their little manual library to pick up some things, she made her presence known behind the wall that completely concealed her from what was actually going on. She couldn't even see what was going on due to carrying a large stack of manuals that covered her view.

"I found that manual I was talking about," Sadness said, wobbling with all the books in her small hands. "I also found a few others I'm sure you would want to look at."

However, she stumbled a bit, thus dropping all her manuals to the floor. Grunting, her blue eyes blinked at the sight of the familiar Mind Workers before her.

"Uh...um..." she swallowed. "H-hello..."

Flora's face broke into a delighted grin as she approached Sadness.

"And there she is!" she exclaimed happily, gesturing toward the emotion.  
_

 _ **Pixar never gave a name for the director of Dream Productions, so I made a Monsters University homage and named her Flora. She's named after that student in Mike's class who said "You got to be kidding me..." and is Big Red's girlfriend (read Post MU-Life's a Scream to learn more about her!).**_


	3. The Star has Arrived

**_Where we last left off, the director from Dream Productions had announced that a "pretty blue-haired, blue-eyed" emotion was chosen to become their newest starlet._**

 _ **Also, I see from the comments most of you assume there is dislike between Sadness and Joy. That's not dislike, that's them still being overwhelmed after everything that happened. They're much better now if you've read chapter one.**_

 _ **Cheers to you if you know what movie I referenced in this chapter (Hint: it's Pixar related). :D**_

 ** _And special thanks to PotterPhantomKitten for co-writing this with me! :)_**

 ** _PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! :D  
_** _

If Joy's jaw could physically detach from her head, it would have clattered to the floor right now. She just stood there and gawked, watching as her blue friend was embraced and adored by the director of dreams.

" _Sadness_?!" Joy cried in disbelief.

"M-Me?" Sadness squeaked, looking just as surprised.

Though her reaction was in contrast to Joy's exaggerated expression of shock, her's more subdued, unable to believe what she had heard. Especially as she was pulled into Flora's arms, feeling slightly trapped as her nervousness rose.

"Yes, you!" Flora exclaimed, breaking away to rapidly shake her hand, then pulling the perplexed emotion into another excited embrace. She didn't notice the shocked expressions of the other emotions. "You'd be perfect to star in Dream Productions' next dreams! We could use real depth from someone like you!"

"B-B-But..." Joy's blue eyes were wide. She had to convince the director that she was the right one for this position! "Dreams need to be exciting, they need something to happen, they need—"

Flora's eyes narrowed at Joy, a reaction that was the exact opposite of what the yellow emotion had been hoping for. And the words stung her pride even more.

"Right now what they need is _compassion!_ "

Joy had opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, the exuberant spring in her step causing her feet to touch the ground so lightly it was as if she wasn't even there.

"B-But, I can be compassionate!" She turned to the other three emotions, desperately hoping they would back her up on this. "Right, guys?"

Anger, Fear, and Disgust were caught off guard by the question. They looked at one another, then back at Joy.

"U-um...uh...yeah..." Fear stammered out, fiddling with his fingers and hated feeling as if a spotlight was being put on him.

"We do know you like making Riley happy," Anger pointed out, averting his gaze.

"Even though you've been a bit of a control freak for a while," Disgust muttered, folding her arms and looking another way.

Up until that point, Joy had been beaming with a confident smile, certain that the backup would work. However, it was then that the smile was wiped off her face.

"Disgust!" she exclaimed, horrified by her friend's words.

Said green emotion stared at her with an unapologetic look. "What? It's true. And you're actually surprised?" she added with spite.

"But...but I—" Joy stammered, glancing from her friends back to Flora.

"And that's why this emotion here is perfect for the job!" Flora exclaimed, wrapping an arm around a still overwhelmed Sadness. "She'll be able to help coordinate Riley's dreams and judge what she needs best! After that little fiasco from before, it doesn't seem like the 'throwing together what happened today' approach hasn't been working lately anymore. We need something fresh!"

As Sadness was held to Flora's side, the blue emotion could only stare at her friends in confusion. She had just walked into the discussion just now, still surprised at seeing Mind Workers in HQ. Even more surprised that the director had suddenly shoved this offer right into her face.

She wasn't sure what to think at this point even as Flora slowly let go of her. Sadness continuously gazed at Joy, hoping for guidance once more.

"But...but I can't work at Dream Productions," the shy emotion said timidly.

The overjoyed expression on Flora's face fell as soon as she said that. The director stared at Sadness with distress, as if all _her_ dreams were ruined...which pretty much was the case right now.

"Oh, and why not?" Flora demanded anxiously.

The blue emotion turned toward the screen. "I mean...Riley needs me...she needs all of us." She returned her glance to Flora. "Joy and I had just gotten back last night, I don't know if suddenly leaving HQ, after everything we just went through, is a great idea right now...I'm sorry." She added painfully, fighting the urge to just cry out of shock and guilt.

Flora couldn't be more hurt from the rejection. All her crew members back in the studio had been counting on this one chance, especially Rainbow Unicorn. With the emotion having turned her down, it was an implication that all _their_ dreams were going just as downhill as before.

Joy watched as her friend played with her blue fingers, looking remorseful and unsure of herself. While the yellow emotion was disheartened that she wasn't chosen, that didn't mean she couldn't allow Sadness to have the opportunity. After 11 years of keeping her away from the console, Joy felt that this could placate her friend's new role even more.

"Now hold on," she called.

Both Sadness and Flora turned their attention over to her, the yellow emotion approaching the former.

"Sadness," Joy told her gently, "this is a rare opportunity for anyone. A big one at that!"

The blue emotion looked up at her, appearing even more unsure of herself. "Oh, gee, Joy, I don't know..." she murmured. "I...I can't do it..."

The golden-skinned emotion lightly gripped her shoulders. "Sadness, at this point Riley isn't the only one who needs you. Now the people of Dream Productions need you just as much. Which is making good dreams for Riley, which she needs, of course."

She bent down to her friend's level, her blue eyes looking into Sadness' eyes.

"No other emotion could be this lucky to have such an opportunity _bestowed_ on them like this," she told her. "Sadness, you really have to take it!"

"Yeah!" Disgust encouraged, she and the others surrounding the teardrop-shaped emotion excitedly. "I mean, Dream Productions? Are you kidding me? If I was you, I would _not_ let this go by me!"

"Think of how many actors you'll be head-butting with on the set," Anger chuckled.

"More of you means less of _Fairy Dream Adventures_!" Fear added. "Come on, Sadness, you're practically _destined_ for this job!"

The blue emotion adjusted her glasses, peering at all the supportive faces around her. It still came as a surprise to her how Joy and everyone else still offered her encouragement so suddenly. They were all standing by her side, insisting she take over a job she wasn't sure she could handle.

But like last night, Sadness could feel her confidence boosting a little.

"Sadness?"

They all turned toward Flora, who bore an expression of hope as she gazed at her chosen future starlet.

"So will you do it?" she asked pleadingly.

The teardrop-shaped emotion swallowed, then glanced at her friends. Finally, she took a deep breath and approached the director.

"Okay," she said finally. "I'll take the job."

Flora's eyes rose, her heart swelling with relief. "You will?"

"I will," Sadness responded with a sheepish smile.

"She will!" Joy cried to the other emotions, gathering them all in a single hug, practically tearing up with happiness.

As the blue emotion shook hands with Flora, the latter grinned wildly.

"This is great!" she exclaimed. "Now we just need you to come over to the studio right away to get prepared!"

The blue emotion's confident expression immediately fell, her eyes widening in horror.

 _"What?"_ she cried.

"Well, you don't actually think we just produce our dreams in the evening, do you?" Flora said matter-of-factly. "We have to prepare! And with you now part of the studio, we have to get you ready!"

The blue emotion took a step back, even more dumbfounded right now.

"No, no, no..." she muttered incoherently. "I mean...I didn't think _right_ now! I mean, what about Riley? We can't just leave her like this! She just tried to run away! How is she going to feel anything while we're gone?"

Flora appeared unfazed by the emotion's distraught. Adjusting her own glasses, she offered Sadness a knowing smile.

"I was wondering when you'd ask that," she said curtly.

Passing Sadness and the other emotions, she reached the wide assortment of memories. Daintily picking up a few, each a color representing each of the emotions, she strolled over to the core memory port. Glancing at the single core memory that was the only thing making Riley's personality, she knew what she was doing was right.

She inserted each memory into each slot, as preparation for when Riley needed to feel sad, happy, angry, grossed out, or scared.

The emotions watched curiously as she opened a panel atop the projector. Joy almost wanted to protest, worried Flora had no idea what she was messing with. Riley only had one core memory in her entire personality, and the kid was still coping. And those memories the director had were merely daily memories, no real power that could boost an island, even a temporary one!

But she kept her mouth shut, seeing as Flora seemed to always know what she was doing. After all, she was a Mind Worker. She knew how the mind worked.

After adjusting a few things, Flora closed the panel before switching on the projector. Walking toward the console, she twisted off her idea bulb, the images on the screen immediately vanishing.

By now whatever came to Riley's mind, it was gone now. She just blinked up, staring at the ocean once more.

Sometimes her mind tended to wander, but that was strange.

Or maybe this was how it was when she was alone, and her thoughts were the only things giving her company. And right now her mind seemed to be at random, like it did on occasion.

Still, it didn't stop her from missing Minnesota. She still felt hurt inside, followed by some other feelings right now, but she didn't bring them out. She just continued watching the ocean aimlessly, wishing she could see tall trees and corn fields again.

Pocketing her bulb, Flora turned to the emotions.

"I've set her mind on auto," she informed them. "Those memories I placed in are simple enough to make her feel. Although not too much of it, but just enough to feel at least something."

She gave them a brisk smile, enjoying their expressions of dubious awe.

"We'll discuss more about this when we get to the studio," she said. She grinned at Sadness most of all. "We better get going. The limo's waiting for us."

Disgust's eyes widened, her expression perking up in intrigue. "A _limo?_ We get to ride in a _limo?_ "

Flora beamed at the green emotion. "Sure do!"

"But I thought only the Train of Thought could get here!" Fear protested. "Or a recall tube, or... being launched into a safety glass window..."

Sadness and Joy both cringed, remembering that all too well.

"Our limos can get here too," Flora assured. "We just never had a need to drive them over here before. Besides..." she went on as she opened the door leading outside HQ, "would you rather take the recall tube or a limo?"

"Limo any day!" Disgust exclaimed, bouncing on her pink shoes.

"As long as it isn't too cramped, at least," Anger added.

"Well, then, what are you waiting for?" Flora said cheerfully, gesturing for them to finally see outside their "comfort zone".

For a moment, the emotions turned and looked at the main part of HQ, Joy and Sadness most of all. The memories Flora had placed in the core memory holder were the only means of powering Riley's personality and feelings for the moment. They wouldn't be able to look out for her.

"Will Riley really be okay without us?" Sadness asked, still unsure.

"It's not like you all are leaving _forever_ ," Flora said gently. "Riley can take care of herself without your input for a little while. Besides, if this works out, you'll be able to help her through her dreams. Isn't it worth it to be able to help Riley at night as well as during the day?"

The emotions stared at the Mind Worker. Though they were understandably anxious about all of them leaving headquarters at once, her reasoning was sound. And their purpose for going was also connected to what they did every day, the reason for their existence: helping Riley,

Of course, besides that, they wanted to see Dream Productions. Especially Disgust.

With a soft sigh, Joy turned to Sadness. After all, this opportunity was meant for her.

"You ready, Sadness?"

The blue emotion appeared pensive for a moment, glancing momentarily at the central hub once more before turning back to her.

"I'm ready," she declared with confidence.

"Great!" Joy pulled Sadness into a hug in much the same manner as Flora had done minutes before. "Off to Dream Productions!"  
_

The limo, which sparkled white as diamond and had _Dream Productions_ on both sides, was even more dazzling on the inside than it was on the outside. The seats were made of velvet, which Disgust liked instantly, and they were proven even better when Flora pointed out each seat had its own adjustment panel. So the position and even the color could be changed!

Joy started cycling through the colors with a broad grin on her face, and even Sadness was awed at the swirls of vibrance that caused the seat to change from one shade to the next. The teardrop-shaped emotion finally settled on a blue tone much like her hair.

While Anger and Disgust were both getting their chairs to the perfect position, Fear was checking the door for clearance in case emergency evacuation was needed—after all, the limo didn't run on tracks!

"Just wait until we get down there," Flora exclaimed, addressing Sadness in particular, "your life is about to get a whole lot more exciting!"

The blue emotion tried to beam at the idea of becoming the studio's newest star. However, she perturbed to her belief that maybe she couldn't succeed this new role.

Her self-esteem had resided in a box for the past 11 years, despite showing cooperation with her fellow emotions. She may have produced a blue memory orb a few times, but she was just starting out the actuality of her job. After all, she was still surprised she managed to control Riley this far up until their console was put on auto-pilot.

Auto-pilot was something mostly said for planes, not minds. But she did read about them in the manuals; but words on paper seemed much different from when it was actually being done. The thought of this particular setting drove her to anxiety, imagining the possibility that Riley might not feel anything when an emotion was called to order.

Flora had picked out memories at random, only because they each bore a color to its creator. Was that even enough?

Her thoughts remained as the limo began to buzz, indicating that they were now on their way. It frightened Sadness a little that she was actually going to leave HQ, just after she and Joy finally returned to it. Part of her was scared they might not make it back, and with all the emotions with them, it could be a greater disaster than what occurred the night before.

Fear peered out the window after checking the tightness of his seatbelt for the fifteenth time. He shuddered, watching as they were, indeed, moving away from HQ. When they first saw the limo parked outside their home, the first thing that came to mind was 'How did it even get here? And what is it standing on if headquarters had no driveway?'.

Of course, when he checked over the limo before entering it, he noticed it was being supported by a transparent panel. Its sparkling exterior reminded him too much of the tracks the Train of Thought used to deliver to HQ, only this was much thicker and wider. He decided not to think about what would happen next...

He was still provided an answer as he slid the window down, and daringly poked his head out. Peering below the limo's tires, his purple eyes widened in astonishment to see more of those transparent panels build up.

Remembering the routes Riley's family had taken to get to San Francisco, these panels seemed to construct some sort of road as it drove forward!

Fear's eyes trailed toward where the vehicle's nose pointed, watching as a path of larger and brighter design was constructed every second. It was like how the Train of Thought travelled, except this time they were practically going on a highway!

"Impressed, huh?" Flora chuckled. "Yeah, you emotions have been cooped up in that tower for so long you wouldn't know how progressive Riley's mind really is."

She gestured toward outside the open window, all eyes watching as the world that was Riley's mind passed by them.

"These are the Roads of Recognition," she explained. "I'm pretty sure if you read the manuals, you'd have known them."

None of the emotions said a word. Of every corner of their mansion-like estate, the mini library of manuals was something they hardly ever crossed.

Sadness pressed her lips together tightly. She read about these roads, but didn't bother to say anything. Her thoughts were consumed over how Riley was doing with an empty control center and no one to press the main button.

"Sadness."

The blue emotion was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of a gentle voice. Blinking upward, she stared into the smiling face of her golden-skinned friend.

"Riley will be okay," Joy promised. "You've done more than she could ask for, and we both know she really appreciates it."

Sadness fiddled with her fingers, hunching her belly as she averted her gaze to the floor. Joy reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"And she'll appreciate it even more that you'll give her nice dreams every night," she added soothingly.

The future actress of Dream Productions lifted her blue eyes to Joy's. The corners of her mouths tweaked, a sign of believing the happy emotion. She desired nothing more than to help Riley.

And probably enjoy Dream Productions for real this time around.

"I'm sorry Flora didn't choose you," she apologized quietly. "I really didn't expect I would actually be picked to star in dreams."

Joy tightened her smile, regarding her teardrop-shaped friend admiringly.

"It's okay," she told her.

"You're not upset?" Sadness asked innocently.

"Well, a little," the yellow emotion responded sheepishly, "but I'm really happy for you. If I could think of anyone who deserves this opportunity, it would be you, Sadness."

The blue emotion beamed even more, feeling her heart swell at Joy's words.

"Thanks, Joy," she murmured.

The two leaned back in their seats, enjoying the ride as the limo made its way toward the existing world of Riley's mind.  
_

The limo slowly drove through the entrance of the studio, the familiarity hitting Joy and Sadness as they poked their heads out the window. Fear, Anger, and Disgust joined them, all three gawking in amazement that they were actually in Dream Productions.

"O...M...G...Disgust muttered. "You guys actually went through _here_?"

The yellow and blue emotions smiled at her. The former relished the expressions of awe on her friends' faces, the latter just trying to appear humble.

"So this is where Riley's dreams are made," Anger noted. Then he frowned. "Man, who would have thought with all this her dreams still turn out so corny?"

Fear peered over to the side of the limo, watching as crew members were gathering props for whatever Sadness was to star in. He could see possible faces that portrayed certain characters in Riley's dreams, especially her more recent ones. With how thriving this studio was, it was a shock that most of their dreams could come out with a lack of a plot.

He glanced over at Sadness who drank in the scenery of her soon-to-be second job. The purple emotion was certain that with her special touch, _Fairy Dream Adventure_ would finally take a backseat.

The limo halted in front of one of the studio lots. The police officers exited out of the driver seats before reaching toward the doors of their passengers. Politely opening them, the emotions nearly spilled out in a pile, Disgust desiring to be the first to set foot on the studio concrete.

"I practically feel famous just standing here!" the green emotion exclaimed as she gazed at her surroundings.

The moment Sadness found herself standing before the studio, her face did not leave undetected. Work stopped, heads turned, eyes gazing at the familiar blue emotion from the pictures taken. They noticed Joy, but right now their main focus was on the studio's newest starlet.

"Is that Sadness?" one worker spoke excitedly.

Murmurs echoed throughout the lot as they regarded the shy emotion. Sadness never expected this much attention, having assumed she would just be brought to the set, make a few lines, and leave as if nothing happened.

But she didn't understand that dream-making didn't work that way. She needed to be _known_.

Flora placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, leading her away from the people's view.

"Come on, in you go," she told her as they entered inside the building.

With the emotions following behind her, Joy very close by, Sadness surveyed the familiar lot. Just two days ago this whole place had been trampled on by Jangles. Yet everything was still in one piece, as if the incident had never happened.

"How did you manage to rebuild everything so fast?" she asked Flora curiously.

The director beamed. "It's called teamwork," she said simply. "After the guards took care of that clown, we started building from scratch. Even Rainbow Unicorn helped."

Sadness's eyes widened. Before she could say anything, Flora was already calling her entire crew.

"Hey, everyone!" the director shouted, quickly grabbing attention. "I found her!"

Just like outside, Mind Workers stopped to gaze at the studio's newest addition. Sadness was immediately greeted with compliments, as well as thanks and many congratulations. All the crew members were incredibly nice, even relieved as Flora was back in HQ.

It still made Sadness nervous, as if so much pressure was being placed on her. She never acted before, even when she tried to be more like Joy the impersonation never lasted long; she ended up too embarrassed to even do a "happy dance" inside her own room.

"Welcome, Ms. Sadness," one worker said to her before he and another were hauling a prop together.

"We're happy you're joining us," another said before resuming her schedule.

"Riley will be having great dreams tonight!" another mentioned while setting the camera.

Sadness felt her cheeks grow red, hunching her shoulders that her sweater could engulf her head. All this attention drove her stomach to do flips. Part of her wished Flora had chosen Joy for this instead!

Her friends were right behind her, drinking in the interior of a studio lot. They still couldn't believe the blue emotion would be whisked into something as amazing as an actual dream. They doubted any emotion _ever_ had been given such a rare opportunity.

Regardless that they would not be part of the dream, they would still stand by and give her their support. Right now they knew Sadness would need it, especially when she was becoming so nervous Fear appeared brave in comparison.

Sadness lifted her gaze from the floor, glancing at the set where she was to stand in front of a camera and perform.

However, unlike the set she and Joy had intervened in hopes of waking Riley up, this one was much bigger. The set was wider, nearly accommodating most of the building. More lights, various colors, shone upon it.

The set was designed as a bedroom. A child's bedroom at that with light pink wallpaper, toys strew on the floor, a tiny bed, and even a mobile hanging above it just to provide more innocence. She noticed that across from it was a closet door that was partially opened, probably to serve as some sort of addition to whatever the plot was.

Sadness blinked at this, still unsure of what exactly she had agreed to. Was that child bed supposed to be for _her_?

"Mommy! Mommy!"

She quickly turned and noticed a lilac-colored Mind Worker with brown hair whose arm was being jerked by a smaller one that was amethyst toned. As Sadness watched closely, it took her a moment to realize that the much tinier person was actually...a kid!

The blue emotion stiffened, realizing that the little being was actually pointing at her, rather excitedly.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried, her brunette hair swishing back and forth as they neared Sadness and her friends. "It's her! It's really her!"

The girl's mother chuckled as she released her hand from her daughter's grip. "Yes, I see that, Dottie."

Sadness wasn't sure what to say as the little gel-like child stood before her. For the past 11 years, neither she or the others had ever associated with an actual child within Riley's mind.

True, Riley was a kid, and more often their work involved interacting with other kids.

But here right now they were _actually_ going to interact with one!

Sadness did recall how, when she and Joy had infiltrated Riley's classroom nightmare, there were kids who portrayed her classmates. However, the girl before her was much smaller, and appeared much younger.

"Hi, Sadness!" the girl known as Dottie exclaimed happily, giving her a wave.

The blue emotion swallowed. "Um, h-hi..." she managed to speak.

The girl's mother chuckled before offering her hand to Sadness.

"Hello, Ms. Sadness," she greeted. "I'm Agnes, the girl's mother. I work the costumes here."

Said emotion inched her hand towards hers, then slowly shook it.

"Um, hello," the new starlet greeted nervously, fighting the urge to hide within her sweater.

"And I know the rest of you," Agnes added, turning toward Sadness' friends.

The other emotions stood to attention, as if finding themselves being judged on the spot.

Agnes smiled. "Riley's very lucky to have you as her emotions," she told them sincerely. "What you guys do is amazing."

Joy smiled at her, delighted by her compliment. The others were especially touched, feeling as if a little bit of Sadness' popularity was rubbing off on them as well.

"I'm really happy you're joining us," Agnes stated, turning back to the teardrop-shaped emotion. "You're not the the only one who's being added to our dreams."

Sadness stared at her curiously. "Really? Who else?"

"Me!" Dottie said happily, bouncing on her feet.

Agnes laughed. "Flora wanted to add more kids to her sets, and that's how my daughter was suddenly given her big break."

"I'm so excited!" the child cried. "And a little nervous, but still, I'm excited!"

She reached over and embraced Sadness, startling the emotion.

"I can't wait to work with you, Sadness!" she said with a twinkle in her azure eyes.

Sadness wasn't sure what to say at this point, her frame held tightly by the small child. Her own hands had been kept upward, as if fearing her own embrace could perform more harm than politeness (and she thought anxiety was Fear's thing...) She never actually interacted with kids before, recalling that the incident with the dog costume had been a major embarrassment.

But still, she offered the child a smile. Although it held some uncertainty, she was, nevertheless, incredibly touched.

"T-thanks..." she murmured.

"I'm your biggest fan!" Dottie said proudly, looking up at her with eyes the color of a clear blue sky.

"But...I haven't even starred in dreams yet," the emotion said in confusion.

"Oh, she's talking about your other work," Agnes explained. "Ever since she was just a babe, she's really admired the things you do in HQ."

Sadness was rather taken aback by that. Although she had contributed at least a few times in Riley's early stages as a toddler, she didn't do quite as much as the others. Just yesterday had been more than what she had done the past 11 years.

Agnes gave her a tender smile. "Every bit of help means a lot," she told her.

"I really like how when you make Riley cry," Dottie said, shifting her feet a bit as she let go of Sadness, "it makes her think away the bad things, and it makes her feel better."

Sadness never expected _anyone_ to find _any_ good in those particular traits. Same for Joy, who realized that perhaps the child had seen something a lot quicker than the yellow emotion had. After all, her mother did say she had admired Sadness since she was a baby. Maybe she was much smarter than she appeared to be.

Still, the kind words and tender spirit tugged at her heartstrings. Especially the others as they watched the small girl in awe, with her brown curly hair and blue eyes, and tiny little frame with a color similar to her mother's. She was just so adorable! Never did they imagine they could meet a child so young and innocent within Riley's mind. They thought only Riley could meet those kind of individuals, not the emotions in her head.

Thinking about it, they never exactly left HQ, save for when Joy and Sadness had been forcibly taken during that abrupt event that was Riley's first day of school. Other than that, the five emotions remained within their estate, having found no reason to ever leave, as they could order what they needed from the comforts of their own rooms, and just gaze at the personality islands from the windows.

Seemed there was more outside HQ than they believed.

Well, the four emotions believed. Sadness, however, had the knowledge from every manual she had read. She knew children did exist within Riley's mind, it was just that she never thought she would ever meet one.

And she didn't need a memory orb to cherish _this_ moment, gazing into the eyes of the sweet little girl that appeared to admire her.

"Aw, isn't that nice?" Fear commented to the others, feeling more delighted than ever cautious.

Dottie's eyes fell on him, and immediately she squealed, which made him yelp with fright.

"Fear!" she cried before rushing toward him.

He nearly toppled over as she attacked him in a tight hug. He kept his balance, stiffening as he looked down to see the child was holding him around the legs. She pressed her face to him, moaning happily as if she was squeezing a plush toy.

"I'm your biggest fan too!" she said happily before nuzzling her face against him. "You're like Riley's superhero! You're always keeping her safe!"

The purple emotion's heart began to melt, his jaw falling in a look of complete awe. He never expected to be recognized for his work like this, especially going so far as realizing he actually had a _fan_!

Joy smiled, warmed by the sight that two of her friends were being so loved by such a sweet child. Anger and Disgust appreciated it...however, slightly envious they were.

The green emotion smoothed her short hair before strolling toward Dottie. Putting on her friendliest face, she grinned at the child.

"Hi there!" Disgust cooed, bending down to look at her more closely.

Dottie loosened her hug on Fear the moment her eyes met Disgust's. Her excited smile faded instantly.

"I'm Disgust!" the emotion said in an overly cheerful voice, batting her large lashes. "You remember me, _right_?"

Hands behind her back, Dottie regarded the green emotion carefully. "Um, yes I do..." She shifted a bit. "Could I ask you something?"

Disgust grinned, assuming it was undoubtedly a request for an autograph. "Of course!"

Dottie stared at her more closely, eyes squinting.

"How come you look like the vegetable Riley hates?"

The smile on the green emotion's face fell like a boulder off the edge of a cliff. She couldn't blink, staring at the kid as if Dottie had wrote on her face with permanent marker.

She didn't even move, glued to her spot with her fingers as numb as her expression. Disgust just stood there and gawked, her back slightly hunched and her position stiff.

The others winced, unable to believe what the child just said. Disgust took pride in her appearance, almost having a mirror and lipstick with her during anything, and being in charge of Riley's choices, whether in social gatherings or dressing nice.

And broccoli was her worst enemy. To be told she looked like her worst enemy was probably like a kick in the stomach.

However, Anger snickered a little despite having pity for the... _broccoli-shaped_ emotion.

Taking this as his chance, he waltzed forward, standing before Dottie with a friendly smile on his face. He never thought he would actually interact with _actual_ kids within Riley's mind. Back in HQ he merely had to be Riley's guide and take her opponents down like a bull in an arena. And when it came to Meg having found a new friend, he couldn't hold back his disappointment.

But here he was peering down at a child that lived in the same world as he did. And someone who was much smaller than him as well!

Still, although he lacked experience with real children, he was certain this couldn't be difficult.

He smiled, offering a bulky red hand toward Dottie, almost in a fatherly way. Like how he had seen Mr. Andersen do it with Riley.

"Hey there, kid," he greeted, trying to make his gruff tone more gentle if that was even possible. "I'm Anger."

Dottie looked from his hand. Then she gazed up at him with innocent eyes full of question.

They narrowed, face morphing in a scowl.

Before Anger knew it, she kicked him right in the shin.

The others watched in shock as the red emotion howled in pain. He fell onto one knee, rubbing his other leg and gritting his teeth, trying to keep from even muttering a possible curse word.

Agnes gasped in horror before she quickly grabbed Dottie by the arm, dragging her away from the slightly injured emotion.

"Oh, my gosh! I am _so_ sorry about that!" she apologized while making sure Dottie didn't try attempting another attack. "Please excuse my daughter! She just really hates the work you do!"

If Anger could have hurt feelings, he was doing an outstanding job of hiding them.

"Gee, you don't say..." he muttered, rubbing his shin while glancing over at Dottie.

He was dumbfounded to see that her adorable expression with sparkle in her eyes had transformed into something more menacing. She glared at him, her lips pouting and her eyes darkening to indigo, as if she was willing to take him down even harsher had her mom not kept her back.

Fear swallowed, having never expected _anyone_ to perform a physical injury on the usually violent red emotion. Had Dottie not been a little kid, Anger would have fought back with a more horrendous outcome. Disgust, however, fought back a guffaw, slapping her hand over her mouth as she watched the red emotion fight back pain caused by a _child_. Only Joy and Sadness expressed any real sympathy, both still unable to believe Dottie had just hurt their tempered friend.

 _"You stink!"_ Dottie spat. "Even though you help Riley, I know you're just a big, mean bully!"

Anger's eyes widened, finding himself in the presence of someone who showed even _more_ fury than him.

And a big, mean bully? True, he often did have to literally smack sense into Fear, or get him away from his personal space in the most harmful way possible, but it wasn't like the red emotion was evil or anything!

"Wow, I'm starting to feel so much better about the broccoli comment," Disgust said, placing a hand to her heart, finding satisfaction at Anger's horrified expression.

It shocked the other emotions as they witnessed his eyes begin to enlarge, his mouth agape as if he was having a hard time exhaling.

He looked remorseful as he just stared at Dottie. Almost afraid.

"Aw, come on, kid," he spoke, his voice sounding somewhat desperate. "Since when have I done anything wrong?"

"Um, you had Riley try and run away?" Agnes couldn't help but intervene, placing her hands on Dottie's shoulders to try and calm her down.

Anger bit his lip. He couldn't deny _that_...

"I didn't know what was going on," Dottie said. "Only that mommy told me to stay at home and be safe."

"I had to explain everything once things went back to normal," her mother informed.

She paused for a moment, recalling the news about how only one island was currently present.

"Most of it, anyway..." she sighed.

"I know you keep being mean to my second favorite emotion!" Dottie huffed, prepared to fight Anger again.

"Sweetie, please..." Agnes spoke carefully, holding her back.

Anger glanced over at Fear. The latter nervously shrugged, having not expected any of this.

Fortunately for them, Sadness stepped in. She reached over and tenderly took Dottie's hand, a gesture that slowly lifted the furiousness from the child's expression.

"I understand how upset and scared you both were," the blue emotion told mother and daughter, her voice soothing and gentle. "And I bet you were pretty worried when Riley was going to run away."

Joy and the others stood back and watched. For the yellow emotion, this was familiar. To the rest of the emotions, it was the first time they had witnessed Sadness use her abilities to express...sadness.

But this wasn't the kind of sad that had someone just sobbing on the floor like a wreck. It was more calming...and rather pleasing.

"I'm sorry you had to experience all that," the blue emotion said. She gazed down at Dottie. "And I'm sorry you don't like Anger as much. He does tend to lose it..."

The red emotion wanted to speak up, but he decided against it. If he said anything, his other shin would probably join his injured one.

"I'm sure you and your mother were able to readjust after Riley came home," she went on. "I know we are."

Dottie and Agnes could only stare at Sadness. The former simply gazed at her in awe, the light in her azure eyes returning that sparkle that shone like stars. Her mother was especially moved, gazing at the blue emotion who more than deserved the admiration of those around her.

"This is what we love about you," she whispered, the others barely able to hear her. "You're ability to help us feel."

Joy just watched as her friend earned the warm embrace of the mother and her daughter. A painful memory of her own resurfaced, yet she quickly pushed it down as now Dottie was much more at peace.

"You're so cool, Sadness," the little girl said, reverting back to her cheerful state. "Anger still stinks though." she quickly added, flashing a glare over at the red emotion.

Anger said nothing, averting his gaze as he stood up after rubbing his knee for the last time.

"I consider the same about you two," Sadness told her and Agnes. "Although I'm still unsure about what exactly I'm going to do here, I am thankful to meet you."

"And we're going to work together," Agnes told her gently. "I know this all seems so sudden, but me, Flora, and everyone in Dream Productions will do everything we can to help you. Don't hesitate to ask for anything."

Seeing as the heated atmosphere had finally died down, Joy's curiosity took over. Dottie had shown her adoration for Sadness as well as Fear, mild disinterest for Disgust, as well as _immense_ disinterest for Anger.

But what about Joy?

"Hey, um..." Joy carefully intervened, cautiously approaching the little girl. "Dottie...what about me? What do you think of my work at headquarters?"

The way the child regarded her, the yellow emotion was relieved there was no malice in her expression. Although the silence and deep thought made her nervous.

"I know that you're the one in charge of almost everything," the child finally said, her voice calm. "I know you're pretty bossy too. And I don't think you let anyone take a turn, like hogging a swing all the time and the others just watch..."

Dottie averted her gaze to the ground, as if feeling guilty about telling Joy her honest opinion of her. The yellow emotion noticed a flicker of reluctance as Dottie shifted left and right, hands behind her back.

She had a feeling she wasn't exactly up there with Sadness and Fear...

"And you're not nice at sharing," Dottie added. "Especially since you won't let Sadness have a turn to play..."

"Huh?" Joy exclaimed, her mouth hanging open as she stared at the little girl in horror.

Even this young kid, the daughter of a Mind Worker, thought she was a control freak?

True, she had denied Sadness the opportunity many times to have Riley feel anything other than happiness. To feel angry, afraid, or even grossed out, she only permitted small tokens of those feelings in comparison to what she gave Riley.

But she was making up for it, trying to be a better person as well! Yet, for sure, Dottie was having her doubts. After all, this was the first time meeting Joy and the emotions. She wasn't sure how much she knew in regards to last night, or even since Riley's first day of school. It wasn't like Joy had been incredibly cruel or anything...

...right?

Before she could even utter the question aloud, Flora coughed, gaining everyone's attention. The director shifted uncomfortably, hoping her friend's daughter would not deter her new starlet from being part of the studio. Thankfully, Sadness was neither the red or green emotion. She was more forgiving than that, and saw past the worst of people.

And to be frank, Flora usually didn't appreciate the efforts of Anger either. She hoped he wouldn't burn her set down if Sadness did request he become a background character.

"Okay, let's get to focusing on the dream here," Flora announced hurriedly, glancing between Dottie and Joy.

She glanced over at Agnes, who tightened her grip on her daughter's hand. Dottie was not the least apologetic for what she said, or had done. Not even if her mother threatened to punish her would she say sorry to the red emotion.

But they could talk about this later. Right now Dottie was to prepare for her dream debut.

"Hey, Flora!" one of the members called. "We need some help with light adjustment, can you get over here?"

She sighed. With all these new ideas added more changes to the studio, which involved a lot of work. If rebuilding the place had been incredibly consuming, helping her newest actors settle in would undoubtedly be a challenge.

"Agnes will aid you over your script along with her daughter," she told the blue emotion. "Don't worry, the script won't be complicated. I'll talk to you in a bit, okay?" She flashed Sadness a smile before turning to the other emotions. "You four take a front row seat, watch your friend _really_ make these dreams epic!"

Although Disgust was still overwhelmed over assuming her hair was like a broccoli floret, Joy consumed with question over the honest statement, and Anger hoping not to get hurt again today, they all offered their teardrop-shaped friend a smile. Fear, who had been the only one other than Sadness to be called a favorite, beamed at her. He honestly couldn't be more happy for her, just as the rest were.

"Right away," Agnes said, loosening her hold on Dottie before offering her hand toward Sadness. "Come with me. We'll take this one step at a time."

Dottie's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes! I'm going to hang out with Sadness! Best day ever!"

Sadness looked uncertainly at Agnes' hand for a moment before taking it, offering a smile in return. After 11 years of being mostly dismissed, ignored, or even pushed aside, here she found herself in an environment where that was completely flipped. She was loved and admired in Dream Productions, and this adorable little kid truly did cherish her presence!

And they actually thought she could be great with helping Riley here!

She turned briefly and offered her friends a nervous yet happy grin. The others (even Anger who was still rubbing his knee) gave her small smiles in return. And despite her prideful behavior before, Joy gave her friend a thumbs up.

"Go Sadness!" she half-whispered, half-cheered.

The teardrop-shaped emotion followed Agnes to where the dressing rooms, props, and scripts were kept, Dottie beaming at her the whole time. As they walked past the stage, Sadness couldn't help but feel a nervous all over again. This would be only the second time she had ever been in a dream, and the first time had been only to scare Riley awake.

Not to say she had stage fright, but this was certainly going to be a different scenario from the first—not to mention more powerful. She just hoped she would have that same confidence from last night, and help their beloved Riley heal.

Dottie kept happily talking to Sadness, asking so many questions that the blue emotion couldn't help but be reminded of Joy.

"So, what's your favorite part of being Riley's emotion?"

Sadness was startled when Dottie suddenly asked her a question. But she heard it well enough to contemplate the right answer.

"Helping look after her," the emotion replied, finding it a question she could answer without hesitation. All she had ever wanted was to do her part in helping look after Riley, and at last the others were finally beginning to realize that.

"Do you have a favorite memory?"

"When Mom and Dad came to comfort Riley when the Prairie Dogs lost the playoffs." The memory played over in Sadness's head, remembering how Joy had said her favorite had been the aftermath that followed.

"Aww!" Dottie exclaimed. She grinned for a moment before looking around, lowering her voice to a whisper so that only Sadness and her mom could hear. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Although her quiet tone put her a bit on edge, Sadness nodded. "Sure."

Dottie looked around just in case before continuing in a low voice. "I think you help Riley out the most."

Sadness' eyes widened in surprise from behind her glasses. Dottie thought the most helpful emotion for Riley was _her_? Even when she had been kept from the console most of the time?

For the past 11 years of Riley's life, Joy had been the one most in control. From that very first moment Sadness had appeared in Riley's life, helping her cry to get what she needed, Joy had constantly pushed her aside.

It was as if Joy had lived by a mantra, a firm conviction: Smiles good, crying bad. Except crying from laughter or happiness, but those rare moments still fell into her realm of Joy.

She never had realized the benefits of crying when Riley needed help. When something caused her to be uncomfortable or upset, Sadness had tried to be there so comfort could be offered when Riley needed it.

"R-Really?" she finally managed to say, staring at the little one.

Dottie nodded, admiration shining in her eyes. "The other emotions have Riley react to things. You call to other people to help her." She reached over and held Sadness' hand. "The others talk, but you listen."

Sadness looked at her with widened eyes and a slight nod. She had never thought about her role that way before, but she realized Dottie was right. The other emotions focused strictly on Riley and having her react to things. Sadness herself had the primary motivation of reaching out to _others_ to form a need connection of empathy with them.

Truly Dottie was much smarter than she appeared. And she looked roughly around five or six years! It made Sadness wonder just how much she knew about Riley's emotions, or if she had her own manual library at home as well.

But before she had time to ponder that further, Agnes brought the pair to where the racked costumes were being kept. She handed each of them a script.

"Now," Agnes said, "you may have noticed that the set-up is a little bit more in-the-past than most dreams." She smiled sweetly. "Director Flora decided to have this dream be from when Riley was younger."  
_

The remaining four emotions sat in the seats provided for close-up viewing. While the studio was maneuvering around them, preparing for a practice with Dream Productions' newest starlet, they couldn't conceal their excitement for Sadness' second career.

Well, Joy was excited, the others weren't exactly sharing her enthusiasm at the moment. Anger was still rubbing over her knee, Disgust was peering at her reflection of her compact mirror, and Fear just waited patiently, wondering how Sadness was doing. However, the purple emotion did bare a smile of certainty, unable to fathom any possibility that anything could go wrong.

Of course, having worked with him for 11 years...the others knew what to expect. They just didn't know _when_ to expect it, especially as they were not in HQ to witness that.

"Wow, I'm so glad you guys are finally actually here!" Joy gushed, blue eyes gazing at her familiar surroundings. "Oh, man! Where is Rainbow Unicorn? You guys _have_ to meet her like Sadness and I did!"

Disgust had only half-listened before turning away from her mirror. "Okay, I think the lighting here is, like, seriously bad. There is _no way_ I look like the the stuff not even gerbils eat." She closed her compact with a loud snap, frowning toward the floor. "Is Dottie trying to tell me something here? I mean, she can't dislike me, can she? I'm just as great as Sadness is!"

"Oh, you got problems with the kid?" Anger grumbled as he continued rubbing over his short leg. "I still can't feel my knee after that kick!"

The green emotion scoffed, rolling her eyes. "She did something _all_ of us obviously always wanted to do."

He bared his teeth in her direction, feeling the flames flicker upon his scalp.

"Why, you little-" he growled.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Fear intervened, holding his hands outward while sitting mannerly in his chair. "Let's not get brutal here! I'm pretty sure Dottie didn't mean what she said earlier."

"Oh, you should talk!" Disgust snapped. "You're her second fave!"

"Makes me wonder if the kid is right in the head," Anger grunted. "I mean, Sadness, I get, but _you_?"

Fear pouted, hands on his lanky form. "Oh, come on! Dottie actually praising me has nothing to do with this!"

"Praise you?" Disgust argued. "Oh, and you guys say I'm the drama queen here? I'd rather have wished I got the same response Joy did!" she added, jerking her head in the yellow emotion's direction.

Joy flinched the moment their eyes shifted toward her. She hunched her shoulders, hands lying firmly on her lap. Dottie's comment earlier may not have been brutal as with Anger or Disgust...but it was still rather affective.

Joy had hoped that her past mistakes would not be brought up any longer. After all, Sadness didn't let this harm the friendship that had become more official.

And as her friend, despite some lingering pain that Joy still felt from being rejected earlier, she needed to give Sadness full support. Like they were all doing right now. Like back in HQ, they couldn't be more happy for her.

They were all still blown away that the blue emotion's second career had brought them outside of HQ. True, there was that tiny bit of uncertainty about Riley's mind being handled without them. But if the Mind Workers knew anything, they knew that auto-pilot would be somewhat beneficial.

After all, this felt like the first time ever the emotions had actually been away from the console for more than fifteen minutes. Far more even though no one was counting.

"Look, Dottie has some honest judgment," Joy proclaimed, "and we should respect that. She's just a kid, and this is the first time she's met any of us. This is also going to be the first dream she'll star in, so let's try not to get so worked up about earlier."

"Yeah, you're right, Joy," Anger mumbled, "even though Disgust really does look like a moldy piece of broccoli..."

The green emotion's eyes whipped toward him, slitting like the sharp edges of daggers.

"Oh, you piece of-" she began.

"Guys!" Joy begged with a sigh.

Both emotions looked away from each other, returning to their own little tasks. Anger was already rubbing his healing leg while Disgust opened her mirror again. The yellow emotion laid back against her seat, sighing once more.

"Yeah, I hear you," Fear commented, laying a hand on the rest of his chair, watching crew members set up. "It's not easy being the only other loved one here besides Sadness."

Joy's eyes shot open, but the purple emotion was not the least bit unkempt about it. After all, he was still basking in the reality that he was considered a "hero" in a child's eyes.

Even as Anger and Disgust went right back to throwing in their harsh statements, feeling as if there was some unfairness here.  
_

Sadness sat with Dottie leaning against her. The blue emotion found herself enjoying the child's presence more and more. Although she had never exactly associated with children (within Riley's mind, of course), she realized just how incredible it was to be close with one.

Dottie was just so young, so spirited and adorable, that deep down Sadness could sense herself gushing over the child's sweetness. It was an honor to work alongside, especially since this would be their first ever dream to be part of.

Agnes returned from around a corner, some clothes clutched against her chest. She grinned at Sadness.

"I already have my daughter's outfit for the dream ready," she said. "I especially have yours prepared too."

Dottie was beaming, practically jumping up and down. "Yay!" She stretched her arms up in a way that Sadness found to be incredibly adorable. "Can I see them, mommy?"

Agnes couldn't help but chuckle lightly at her daughter's eagerness, shifting the clothes in her grasp to give the smaller group to the young child, as well as a wig.

Sadness's eyes widened as she recognized the outfit and hair from many years ago—when Dottie put on that outfit, she had bore quite a likeness to Riley when she had been much younger.

Dottie grinned, nearly snatching the costume from her mother and practically dancing around. "Yay! I'm Riley! I'm Riley! I get to be the star!"

" _Co_ -star, Dottie," Agnes reminded her gently with a chuckle. "It's Sadness' dream too, you know."

"That's even better!" Dottie exclaimed, practically leaping and nearly dropping the costume in her haste. She quickly hugged her mom, then Sadness, before racing into one of the dressing rooms to change.

Agnes gave the teardrop-shaped emotion—who looked a little bewildered at the hug—an apologetic look. "She bounces all over the place when she's excited."

The thought of Dottie being a past version of the girl she and her fellow emotions watched over caused Sadness to actually smile. Even having only talked to her for a few minutes, Dottie's spunk and enthusiasm really did remind her of Riley at a younger age.

Sadness couldn't help but be curious as to what her own role in the dream would be—though, considering Dottie's role, the stage set up, and her own involvement, she had a guess.

It was then that she took a glance at the costume that Agnes had for her, the brown wig and red glasses standing out the most.

"Sadness, you'll be Riley's mom."  
_

Riley had abandoned viewing the ocean to resume walking down the pier. A cool breeze picked up, her blonde locks blowing back. Hands dug into her jean pockets, she averted her gaze to the floor, ignoring most going on around her.

She did temporarily look up when the smell of hot dogs and fish sticks wafted through her nostrils. Even some of the street performers were rather entertaining; she had to smile just for a second when she saw one insert a baton of fire into his mouth, engulfing it without difficulty.

But it was only for a second. That smile immediately dropped as she passed the rest of the performers. She stopped as soon as she reached the end of the pier, and this time she finally looked up. From her current location the sun seemed much closer, almost as if Riley could just reach over and touch it.

Yet, like Minnesota, it was just so far away, prompting her to feel less enthralled.

One moment she felt just the least bit blissful. Then was back to feeling sad. That lasted only a few seconds.

She grunted the moment someone on a skateboard bumped her against the elbow.

"My bad," the college boy on the board called back, not even stopping to turn around.

Riley's eyes narrowed for a moment, wanting to just call him out and probably do something with his skateboard.

But that feeling of anger only lasted a few seconds as well.  
_

The emotions sat and waited in anticipation, their view in front of the set closer than they hoped for. With their distance, Sadness could look to any of them for support when she felt nervous. And they would be silently cheering her on as she made her debut alongside Dottie.

Fear sipped his cup of coffee, satisfied with the refreshments provided for the crew; Anger's leg was much better now; Disgust kept peering at her mirror, trying to remind herself that Dottie's comment was due to bad lightning; and Joy was at the edge of her seat, nearly squealing aloud as she waited for the dream to begin.

Flora came in, wearing a headset and a clipboard at hand.

"Alright, first ever dream and we got our two newest stars ready!" she barked to her crew. "Camera set?"

The guy working it gave her the thumbs up as the device was in position.

"Lights?" Flora called, glancing above the set.

The emotions had to shield their eyes immediately as soon as light pierced downward.

"Wow, that is bright!" Fear exclaimed.

"Now dim them just a little to get the night setting just right."

And the lights lowered. Each one varied in color, mostly mixes of blue combined with regular just to ensure the setting, indeed, look like the evening. The window that was part of the bedroom set had a poster of stars slotted behind it, to provide more to the nightly atmosphere.

Flora smiled, everything coming together just as she hoped.

"Flora," one of her crew members spoke as he came over with cue cards. "We need pre-made dialogue?"

"No, not this time," the director said confidently. "This is all going to be heart. A little improv won't hurt anyone. And I'm pretty sure our new actresses are motivated enough to do a swell job!"

"Flora," Agnes called, leftover costumes cradled in her arms, "my daughter's ready."

She gestured to the very young child beside her, wearing the blonde wig. She also wore a pink sleeping gown complete with matching slippers.

"Aw, cute as ever!" Flora cooed. "You know what to do, right?"

"Yup!" the little girl chirped. "I get into bed and..." Her voice trailed off.

"And Sadness will come in," Flora added. "Don't worry, this scene is pretty easy for you."

Dottie took her mother's hand as she was led toward the bedroom setting. Helped onto the mattress, Agnes smiled lovingly as she tucked her under the covers. The child grinned, feeling more satisfied with her first ever role. She could sleep right now if that was part of the dream!

"Aw, would you look at that?" Joy said sweetly, she and the other emotions watching.

"Yeah, cute..." Anger muttered with a chuckle.

As Dottie laid snuggled in bed, she glance around the false bedroom. She thought over how Riley must have been like long before Dottie had been born. Judging by the concept of the dream so far, this was going to be easier than she expected, and thrilling considering her favorite emotion would come in soon enough.

Although she became slightly nervous when the rest of the studio's light began to dim, just to ensure the evening scene would look realistic. But at least the lights supporting the setting didn't darken any further-

She let out a terrified gasp as soon as the blue varied lights began to lessen. Burying herself further under the covers, her trembling face was monitored by the camera.

"Reality distortion lens is on now," the camera man commented as he aimed at the child's face.

Agnes frowned before turning to Flora. "I thought you said there would be some light mixed into the night time effect. You know my daughter hates the dark."

"Easy," the director reassured her, "here comes that little ray of light."

At that moment, the knob of the door beside Dottie's bed began to turn. The child, having not expected that, buried herself even deeper against her covers.

However, as soon as the door opened, she was greeted by a calming presence.

The emotions watched in awe as their teardrop-shaped friend slowly made her way into the scene. Every step was graceful, the brown wig she wore fitting perfectly and tied back in a low ponytail. She was adorned in a dark purple sweater and sandy white pants.

Thanks to the reality distortion lens, she and Dottie definitely represented Mrs. Andersen and her daughter. The only difference was Sadness's glasses, which were rounder while the mom's were always more square-shaped.

But that did not deter the scene as she turned to Dottie. The emotion's expression of shock was not of pretend, but completely real, just like Dottie's of fright was right now.

"Do-" Sadness began but quickly stopped. "R-Riley! Are you okay, what's wrong?"

Nearly forgetting who she was playing, Dottie lifted herself a little and gazed at Sadness pleadingly.

"I'm scared!" she moaned.

Although the scripts were vague, being sympathetic and caring was not something the emotion had to pretend. She sat at the edge of the bed, laying a hand on Dottie's before holding it.

"It's alright," Sadness murmured. "Mommy's here."

Joy watched, amazed how quickly her friend picked up. Whether that was acting or not, the blue emotion was very good at her role. After all, like at HQ, this was the one she was meant to play.

Silently gazing at the way Sadness comforted Dottie, how she held herself like a mother, it made Joy reflect on those days when Riley had been Dottie's age.

When she had been young and dependent, Joy filled her thoughts with happiness. Even more when the parents weren't present and the ones in Riley's head took over even more.

Even to this day Joy would not stop telling Riley, "Mommy's here.".

The others, especially Joy, couldn't help but marvel at how into her role Sadness was. Even though it was often Joy who would utter those quiet murmurings of "Mommy's here," to comfort their girl, there was an aspect to Sadness' performance that Joy realized she herself lacked.

Both meant those words of comfort with all their hearts, but Sadness in this scenario showed a desire to more deeply understand Riley's worries. It was a desire for compassion and understanding that Sadness had shown with Bing Bong, and was definitely showing here.

Sadness gently stroked what served as Dottie's hair, and looked down at her tenderly. "Shhh, Riley, what is it that's scaring you so much?"

Dottie wiped her face, glancing around. "I... I had a nightmare," she admitted tearfully.

"What kind of nightmare?"

For a moment, Dottie looked away.

"Honey," Sadness said as gently as she could. "You know you can talk to me about anything..."

Joy's eyes widened. She couldn't help but realize that, thanks to what had happened mere days before, Riley had been doing the exact opposite. She had bottled up her feelings, trying to stay happy for her parents' sake and not admitting to them how hurt she was.

Until Sadness helped her to admit it...

Understanding was present among the emotions as they watched, realizing just why the route of this dream was so necessary to be taken. Riley had to understand and remember that bottling up her worries and fears wasn't what was needed. Admitting them was. By bottling them up, they would risk causing damage to her psyche, and she wouldn't be able to properly heal.

Hopefully, through this dream, Sadness could help Riley achieve that. And Joy had to admit that Sadness really was the right emotion for this job.

Stardom wasn't supposed to be the focus of these new dreams. Compassion for Riley was.

Dottie, at that moment, didn't feel quite as scared anymore. In the darkness the studio had to create to make her acting look more realistic, she felt more at peace. She hardly remembered she was supposed to be Riley, especially since she had Sadness by her side.

In the blue emotion's eyes, she wasn't just playing the part of Mrs. Andersen. She was being her kind, empathetic self that Dottie loved so much.

The child could just drift off to sleep right now, even though it was obviously still daytime. Yet Sadness reminded her so much of how her mother placed her in bed, just after switching on her night light.

She suddenly remembered her script and forced herself to utter the words Riley would possible have said.

"I dreamed about the closet," she murmured, pointing across her bed.

And sure enough, there really was a closet in front of them. It was a white door with pink flowers on it, but looks could be deceiving.

Dottie suddenly found herself getting nervous again, assuming that there was bound to be more "surprises" after the lights shutting off. She squeezed further under her covers, her reaction completely real and very much frightened at this rate. Even though her mom and the crew were close by, she could hardly see them with all the lights gone.

Sadness glanced over at the door, just as her script instructed. Laying a hand on Dottie's, she knew right away how literally scared the girl was. The emotion knew too well that some things were meant to be "improv" at this point.

"The closet?" she asked Dottie.

"I think there's a monster going to come out of there," the child said.

At that moment, Fear was on the edge of his seat. When Riley had nightmares, and he was on Dream Duty, he would be just as scared.

But seeing all this up close and getting suspenseful...

"I want my night light!" Dottie exclaimed.

"I didn't expect her to say that..." Flora murmured, glancing over at Agnes.

"My daughter is getting really scared right now!" the mother hissed at her.

"She's got Sadness with her," the director reassured her.

Dottie wished she could just ditch the wig right now, and just show Riley that this was a dream that was _speaking_ to her. Director Flora was yet to do anything like that. After all, this was Dottie's and Sadness' first time in front of the camera.

What she did not expect was being in the arms of her idol, who embraced her comfortingly. Pressed against her chest, Dottie could not believe how lucky she was becoming today. Part of the script or not, Sadness really knew how to make things better!

"We all are afraid of something," the emotion whispered to her gently, releasing the child. "Sweetie, how about I make sure there aren't any monsters in the closet? Will that make you feel a little better?"

Dottie beamed. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Sadness stroked her face once more before lifting from the bed. Heading toward the door, she carefully turned the knob.

And just as Sadness expected, there was nothing on the other side. Just another way out of the set despite the darkness seeping from it.

"See?" The emotion gestured to the opening. "Nothing. I can understand why you're still scared though. No one likes to be in the dark."

Now that wasn't exactly in the script, but Sadness was doing her best to comfort Dottie. And she mentioned she had a night light...

"I'll make sure that night light of yours gets installed again here soon," she said, thinking at the top of her head. "It's...uh...still broken right now."

Maybe not what Flora expected, but the director wasn't complaining. In fact, she was rather impressed Sadness could think quickly with the right words to say.

The emotions watched, silently cheering their friend on. Fear fought the urge to clap, remembering that they were all just viewers, no noise. But that didn't stop the grin from growing on his face, seeing Sadness perform so well for her first time. And there were no monsters in the closet!

Sighing with relief, he laid back in his seat, watching as his friend returned to Dottie. However, she forgot to close the door.

And she didn't notice two red eyes glowing in its darkness...

The purple emotion's pupils dilated, biting off the urge to scream. Sadness and Dottie were unaware of what exactly was regarding them from the closet, nor realize it was planning to make its way into the bedroom.

And Fear didn't realize that this was all merely just an act.

Because next thing the others knew, he pushed off his seat, tipping it over.

 _"No, no, no, no!"_ he cried frantically, startling everyone as he made a dash for the set.

He didn't realize that he accidentally knocked against the camera on his way. During the impact, the lenses fell off...

Fortunately, he went through the door Sadness entered, flinging it open. Dottie and the blue emotion were immediately startled, watching in alarm as he suddenly rushed in. Next thing Sadness knew, his arms were wrapped around her, hugging her as if for dear life.

"Look out!" he cried, holding her even tighter.

"What are you doing?" Sadness said, not the least bit angry, her tone mellow as ever, yet her eyes rose with surprise.

Fear shuddered, holding Sadness close to him as he gazed at the closet. He held her so tightly that her wig just fell off, revealing her sparkling blue locks for the camera to witness.

"M-m-m-" he stuttered, pointing a shaky finger toward the closet.

Flora gawked at the scene, unable to believe what had happened.

However, that was just the beginning as three more faces rushed onto the set through the bedroom door.

"You idiot!" Anger shouted at him as he made his presence known. "This is all just pretend!"

"Hey, is the camera still rolling?" Disgust asked, glancing directly at the crew. "I hope they got my good side!"

"Guys!" Joy exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "We're not supposed to be here!" She turned to Fear. "Come on, you're ruining this for Sadness!"

At that moment, there was no more mention of Mrs. Andersen or even Riley. Dottie, having seen Sadness bare her real appearance, threw off her wig. Although everything was completely unexpected, she couldn't help but smile.

Especially since two of her favorite emotions were with her right now. Holding each other...

"Aren't you going to yell cut?" the cameraman frantically asked Flora.

The director sat in her seat, stroking her chin as she watched the whole thing.

"No," she said, her lips slowly forming into a smile. "I like spontaneity. And Sadness and Dottie don't seem to be having a problem with it."

Fear let out a squeak of surprise as the red eyes of something stood at the threshold of the door. The darkness that shrouded it only made it more terrifying to the purple emotion—and to Dottie.

"What's going on?" Dottie cried, crawling out of her bed and clinging to Sadness. "What is that?"

Fear shivered, holding onto Sadness' arm. The rest of the emotions were immediately aware that something was, indeed, in that closet.

And, just like the purple emotion, they had forgotten it was all pretend...

"I-I don't know," Sadness stammered, intimidated by the appearance of what possibly was a monster herself. So much for nothing being in that closet...

Anger stepped forward, a stern expression on his face as he gripped a chair at the side of the room firmly in his large hands.

"So," he growled, glaring at the supposed beast, "you think you can just come in here and scare the kid? Let's see how ya like **_THIS!_** "

Just as Anger was about to release the chair, Joy happened to notice a foot sticking out as the monster stepped closer.

A hoof, to be precise.

Joy's eyes widened, before turning to the red emotion who held the chair above his head. "Anger, wait!"

But it was too late, and the chair was already sent flying.  
_

 _ **Author's Note: Callback to "Child of Ours" if you can spot it.**_


	4. The Ones Who Care

**_If you read my journal on Deviantart, you're probably aware about what's going on in my personal life. It's motivated me to have more focus on this story than any other, especially my popular Monsters Inc/Monsters University one "Life's a Scream!". I thank all the people who have been keeping up to date with this and providing me feedback for it._**

 ** _As for the updates that kept popping up recently, I apologize. A little mistake here and there...and the desire to just have my story on the top of the IO page. I know it's a cheat, I just wanted more people to notice it, and the further down it goes, the harder it is to get noticed...But I promise it won't happen again, it's just not worth it. :(_**

 ** _Again, special thanks to PotterPhantomKitten for co-writing this with me!_**

 ** _PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!  
__**

The monster, which consisted of blue fur with purple spots, let out a neigh of shock before the chair slammed at its elongated body. It also impacted the door, nearly making the far end of the set collapse. The beast itself fell on its side, grunting in heavy neighs as it clutched around its blue-costumed thighs.

The mask, a furry blue face with plastic horns on top, became dislodged, revealing just who Joy had suspected. The blue and purple were replaced by a mane of many colors.

"Rainbow Unicorn!" Joy cried, hurrying over to help up the celebrity she admired so much.

The yellow emotion didn't even notice the stunned yet guilty expression on Anger's face as she raced past him. The camera took great notice of his worried expression, just as he watched Joy coming to her idol's aid.

Joy grunted as she took Rainbow Unicorn by her front hooves, which have been shrouded in furry blue gloves with plastic claws. Those immediately fell off, along with the rest of the celebrity's costume. The leading emotion bit her lip, noticing that her idol was still weak at the knees, no doubt still shaking from the ordeal.

Deep down Joy's heart was swelling, despite how completely awkward this was. After all, she and the others had just interfered with Sadness and Dottie, the two watching her as well as the multi-colored maned unicorn. As remorseful as she was, the yellow emotion could not stop from gushing over the famed character before her, who was brushing off remnants of blue fur off her white coat.

"Wow, I mean, wow, great to see you again!" Joy rambled, not realizing every word and movement she made was being filmed right now. "After, you know... before..." she added hastily, rubbing her arms and averting her gaze.

The unicorn fought the urge to roll her eyes, but rather neighed in understanding. From her expression alone, there were no lasting hard feelings toward either Joy or Sadness...even though Jangles the Clown was something that would haunt _her_ dreams for a while.

Yet a smile came upon her face, one that was so real it shocked Fear. Often the purple emotion believed she was as bad as her acting was, possibly being a stuck up celebrity who believed she was better than anyone. That she didn't need to make any actual acting as long as her face was full on screen, and colors and candy danced around her.

Fear realized just how wrong he was, seeing her grin sweetly in the direction of Sadness and Dottie. While he, Disgust, and Anger, stood behind the pair, they watched as the pony waved affectionately toward the duo. Dottie grinned, waving back, while Sadness tried not to shy her head away.

Maybe he had been too judgmental all those nights on Dream Duty...

However, she did give an irritated glare toward a certain brick-shaped emotion.

"Huh, sorry about what Anger did..." Joy apologized, glancing nervously at the guilty-faced red being. "He thought you were really a monster...which you aren't..." she added hesitantly. "...because this is all just a dream..."

"How was I supposed to know this would be part of the act?" Anger demanded, trying to defend his rash action.

"Can't blame him though," Fear said, daring to approach now that it was clear there was no monster threatening to gobble them all up. "You _did_ look pretty scary..."

The unicorn's look of slight indignation toward Anger was replaced by one of pride, basking in the compliments she received from both Joy and Fear. As far as she was concerned, an actor would definitely say his or her performance was a success when the audience stopped seeing them as a friend in a role, but rather as the character they were portraying.

A much better improvement from the disaster of a dream two nights ago...

" _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing," Fear mumbled, looking around guiltily at the wayward destruction his outburst had unintentionally caused.

Dottie still looked surprised, holding onto Sadness's hand but at the same time fascinated to see Rainbow Unicorn. She gazed at the purple emotion worriedly, wondering why he needed to be so apologetic for what happened. _He_ didn't throw a chair at the pony.

"I freaked out because I thought we were being attacked by a monster, and now look what happened!" His head drooped in shame. "I ruined Sadness' big break."

Sadness was about to respond to Fear's expression of guilt, but an exuberant voice stopped her.

"Ruined it? You've done just about the opposite!"

The purple emotion lifted his head, eyes widening in shock. "Huh?"

The next thing Fear knew, Flora quickly raced up to the stage, shaking the bewildered nerve's hand.

"In fact," Flora went on as the others looked on in surprise, "you knocking off the filter just gave me a _great_ idea!"

"He did?" Anger exclaimed in exasperation.

The thought of it baffled the red emotion. Here, the little purple nerve seemed to have destroyed everything...and he was being _rewarded_ for it?

"Yes, indeed!" Flora sang as she placed her arm around Fear's shoulders, gesturing to the room. "Some of Riley's dreams can be like a reality show!"

The others just stared at her in astonishment but mostly confusion. Only Dottie and Rainbow Unicorn were smiling openly at the idea, excitement not going unnoticed by the camera crew.

"Reality show?" Disgust asked aloud. "Wait, you're not meaning like those sitcoms that have people following famous people with a camera everywhere, do you? Because I like my privacy, thank you very much!"

"No, no!" Flora laughed, shaking her head. "Not like that! We're not those kind of people! We're Riley's people! And what I'm talking about is...no more filters."

She turned to Sadness and Dottie. The director really admired their true appearances, not hiding anything and just showing how beautiful they were in _real_ reality.

"Our actors are going to just...be themselves."

Joy glanced over at Sadness, the blue emotion shrugging. It was still a lot to take in, and most of what Flora was talking about was almost gibberish to their ears.

"So wait a minute..." the yellow emotion began. "Are you saying that Riley will now see... _us_?"

"I know what you're thinking," Flora told her sympathetically, "it's something most would never do when it comes to helping your person's mind."

She gazed around the studio, at her beloved co-workers, and especially the emotions she had great respect for. The Mind Worker smiled, reminiscing about how the years progressed. They had gone from simple dreams that were basically squiggles on a white board to playful characters that would either entice or frighten Riley, up until that point her parents would rush in and comfort her.

Riley was 11 now, and she had an active mind. Despite no longer being 5, her mind still progressed with the fantasy and imagination that was often tried to be conducted through _Fairy Dream_ episodes.

How unfortunate it took Flora 11 years for the reality to hit her in the face, telling her that Riley deserved something with more meaning. True, the kid loved Rainbow Unicorn, and she adored the gingerbread houses and flying- through-the-air dreams.

But there needed to be more. Something different.

And knowing what these emotions, especially Sadness, had been doing for Riley, it gave Flora the call she had never even thought of.

Riley deserved to see the people inside her head, even though she really had no idea they were _literally_ the people inside her head.

These dreams were the only way she was going to see them. Whether she believed them or not, at least they would be a huge comfort, and hopefully make her sleep more peacefully.

This was why she had begged Sadness to join Dream Productions. The blue emotion knew Riley more than anyone.

"Riley's a swell kid," Flora finally said after some thought. "She should just see what swell people are running her mind."

And she winked at Sadness, to which the latter shyly regarded.

Flora turned to her crew. "I guess that's a wrap for now. Great job, everyone!"

"Wait, that's it?" Fear cried, worrying he had just ended Sadness' career on the spot.

"We got it all recorded for tonight," Flora assured him as she hopped off the setting. "And besides, after that, there will be many more dreams to come, hon!"

The purple emotion glanced over at Sadness, who was helping Dottie out of her bed. At least the blue emotion wasn't angry with him or anything...And it seemed his own actions must have even _improved_ her status at this point!

Dream Productions could be so odd sometimes. But it was better than making cliche tropes like wearing no pants or teeth falling out...

Sadness and Dottie talked for a moment, the latter doing most of it as she continuously embraced the former. She gushed over how excited her first dream had been, showing impatience for when the next would occur. Dottie then let go when Sadness was approached by Rainbow Unicorn herself.

"Hello," Sadness greeted calmly, "it's good to see you again, Ms. Unicorn. Flora mentioned you were sort of pleased with our last meeting. Sorry my friend almost killed you with a chair."

The pony herself just snorted, waving a hoof. She neighed on about how although she liked the _Fairy Dream_ episodes she starred in, she honestly liked her monster role.

And she especially found it an honor to work with Sadness. The pony was excited for tomorrow night when they would meet again, and work on future dreams.

She gave Sadness one last smile, patting the blue emotion's shoulder. Then she turned to Dottie, who gazed at her with awe. The unicorn bent on her hind legs, taking the child's hands in her hooves for a moment. Giving a few neighs of encouragement and promising to see her again, the pony stood up as the latter grinned. After that she walked off to get coffee and her hair fixed, leaving Sadness and her friends practically wandering the set.

"I am so sorry I did that!" Fear told Sadness, his cheeks flushing red.

"I know you meant well," she assured him. "Just like Anger meant well when he nearly decapitated Rainbow Unicorn earlier."

"How was I supposed to know that was her?" the red emotion cried. "She's usually frolicking through meadows and getting surrounded by giant peppermints or whatever!"

Sadness was about to respond when she felt a tug on her hand. She glanced down at Dottie, who beamed.

"That was really fun!" the small child giggled. "I liked the part where Fear came in. That was funny! I found it even funnier that during the whole time he wouldn't stop hugging you." she added with a sly grin.

Sadness smiled, and she noticed Fear blush, looking at Dottie with an expression of awe on his face.

"R-Really?" He stepped closer, eyes wide toward the child as if barely daring to believe it. "You mean I didn't ruin it?"

"Of course you didn't!" Dottie exclaimed. "You made it better because you helped make it funny!"

Fear couldn't help but let an amazed smile light up his face. He had thought that his outburst would have been seen as an embarrassing distraction, a failure that would result in the scene having to be shot again. That was probably how Anger would have seen it.

But to think that not only did his overreaction not ruin everything, it provided some comedy to lighten the mood? That actually wasn't too bad a thought, and it eased his worries a little.

Flora seemed to share Dottie's sentiments as she walked over to the gathered emotions. "Fear, I have to say that Dottie's right—humorous reactions like that could really help this dream reality show be beneficial to Riley. Sure, there's going to be some tearjerking moments, but a little laughter is good when needed."

Fear could feel his cheeks heat up, rather embarrassed at the sudden praise. He glanced at his blue friend. "But I thought Sadness was supposed to be the star because of her compassion! I didn't bring compassion, I brought panic!"

"And set destruction," Anger pointed out, gesturing to the set that now looked a lot less pristine and more like someone had haphazardly thrown pieces onto the stage area.

Disgust glanced at Anger with a slight glare. "Well at least _Fear_ didn't throw a chair at Rainbow Unicorn."

Anger just crossed his arms and grumbled.

Flora, however, didn't seem annoyed at all by Fear's reaction—in fact, more like the complete opposite.

"Ah, but it was Fear's over-the-top reaction that was so erratic it actually became very funny." As she spoke, the director began jotting down notes for her next great dream script for their new reality show plan. "And a bit of humor never hurts when it's done right!"

Joy caught on, her blue eyes sparkling. " Yeah!" she insisted, turning to her four friends. "They do say that laughter is the best medicine!"

"And you all could make quite an ensemble together!" Flora added, her eyes alight as her own mind came up with grander visions for what she was sure to be Dream Productions' latest and greatest hit. "With all your help, we can really help take Riley's dreams in the best direction for her!"

Before Sadness knew it, Flora reached over and took her hand, patting it.

"Thank you so much for accepting this job offer," the director told her gratefully. "Had it not been for you, Riley would have never come back home. And so much more."

The blue emotion's eyes widened behind her large glasses, gazing at Flora with surprise. She never expected this praise, half-wondering if she herself was merely dreaming all this.

Joy watched as Flora added more compliments and thanks to her expressive dialogue, gazing at Sadness as if the whole world had been shrouded in darkness for so long.

Riley's mind had been partially cloudy, on the verge of falling apart, but she always had her ray of light! After all, Joy was the only emotion that glowed!

But, as she watched Flora smile with gratitude toward Sadness, Joy hadn't been the one that saved Riley. She didn't give the light she really needed.

"Sadness will resume her roles for upcoming dreams," Flora informed the others, gesturing to the blue emotion. "As the star, she needs her friends there to support her. And as her background characters, or even supportive ones depending on what we need."

Pushing away what was possibly mild envy, Joy beamed at the thought. She might not become as hugely popular as her friend, but at least she would be noticed. And by Riley, of course!

However, she turned to Sadness in question. After all, this was her stardom. Joy and the others were merely 'props' that benefitted her when the time was right. Although Flora promised that they could carry alongside Sadness, the blue emotion herself had as much say than the director herself.

"Are you okay about this?" the yellow emotion asked carefully.

Flora and others turned to the teardrop-shaped being. "What do you think, hon? Sounds great, right?"

Sadness thought. She was still incredibly overwhelmed by what had happened to her today. However, glancing from each of her friends' faces, to Flora's, and especially Dottie's, the emotion tweaked a simple smile.

"I think that would be nice," she said quietly.

The others cheered, Dottie embracing her happily, Flora patted her pack with an excited grin.

"Sadness, you are a wonderful, beautiful person," she told her adoringly. "I'm eternally grateful that you stumbled upon my studio. And Riley's eternally grateful that you help her."

Sadness' cheeks reddened. "Well, I'm not the only one who helps her." she said, turning to the other emotions.

"Well, you're the one who actually saved Riley," Fear mentioned.

"Yeah, all pogo stick here did was try and leave headquarters," Anger muttered.

"Anger!" Fear protested through gritted teeth, noticing the shocked look on Sadness' face.

"What?" the red emotion retorted. "You did!"

Dottie, who was confused about what went on in HQ during the situation, was about to question Fear. However, that was intervened when Sadness felt a nudge behind her. Turning around, the blue emotion gazed up into the towering presence of Rainbow Unicorn herself.

Having shed her costume, the pony's mane shone under the lights. A cup of coffee was in her hoof, that same sincere smile on her lips.

She neighed toward the blue emotion, extending a hoof toward her, as if indicating her to follow. Joy couldn't help but become slightly envious again, but in a good way, as the popular pony focused her attention on Sadness.

"I'll leave you and RU to bond," Flora told her, patting the emotion's shoulder. "Right now I got to go talk over my next dream idea. This is pretty much a wrap, but you're all welcome to hang around here until you feel the need to go home."

She reached down and patted Dottie's head, nodding to Joy and the others, then walked off. Sadness watched her leave, before Rainbow Unicorn's arm wrapped around her, dragging her away from her friends. Sadness peered over her shoulder, feeling rather unsure of leaving them like this, but who was she to deny a simple conversation with the pony herself?

Joy gestured for her blue friend to go ahead, knowing that she had a new friendship just waiting to be made. And after she and Rainbow Unicorn became friends, said pony would become a friend to the other emotions. Especially to Joy.

With the blue emotion gone, that left Dottie as she gazed up at Fear with boundless awe. She almost wanted to say something, in regards to Sadness, but she decided to hold that for another time.

She would probably leave it to the purple emotion to figure it out himself.

"You know, Flora says more kids my age might be in new dreams," she said. "I'm kind of worried I might end up competing or Sadness gets hogged by all of them..."

"Aww..." Joy murmured sympathetically, bending down to the child. "Don't worry. I know Sadness, she'll have time for all of you."

"Yeah!" Anger intervened. "And besides, you got us too, kid!"

He flashed a smile in her direction. Although slightly forced, he hoped it would win her approval.

Dottie's lips pressed together, peering at him closely. Standing closer to Fear, she hoped that the red emotion himself would have the least amount of screen time in dreams.

"I think I would rather hang out with Jangles the Clown than you, brick head."

Immediately, Anger's smile died down. He failed to notice Disgust' covering her mouth to keep from snort laughing.

That honestly hurt him more than the kick in the knee earlier...

"Dottie," Agnes called to her.

The child's face lit up at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Time for me to change," she said. The young Mind Worker grinned at the purple emotion. "Bye, Fear! See you guys later!"

Her smile was mostly directed at Fear and Joy, and possibly Disgust for a moment, completely ignoring Anger before she dashed off. Leaving the emotions to enjoy themselves however they felt like, the red one released his inner thoughts.

"Oh, so I'm the bad guy here?" he demanded aloud. "Seriously, does this kid not see what I do for Riley?"

"Besides making her run away?" Disgust pointed out.

"Hey, you and beanpole agreed to it!" he snapped.

"Guys, enough," Joy intervened, sighing. "This is Sadness' big break, remember? And it's not like Dottie actually hates you, Anger."

"Yeah, sure," he muttered, "that kick just _says_ 'I love you, let's be friends'..."

"Oh, Dottie's just a kid!" she assured him. "I mean, she's been so obsessed with Sadness and Fear that she hardly understands about...the rest of us." she uttered almost dejectedly.

"Uh, yeah!" Disgust piped in. "Like how do I actually look like a piece of broccoli? It's not like someone modeled me after that horrid thing! That is, like, totally unreal!"

Joy rubbed her temples, wishing Sadness was back with them easing the tension right now. She always knew how to calm everyone down...

"How long do you think Sadness is going to be gone?" Fear asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Considering how popular she is," Anger said, "we're probably on our own for hours."

"Did you see the way Rainbow Unicorn was with Sadness?" Disgust mentioned. "That pony was practically all over her like she was _her_ fangirl."

"Meh, it's one actress mingling with another one," Anger muttered as they walked around the studio. "I'm hungry. Where they got food around here?"

"Kind of wish I could make Sadness some coffee," Fear commented. "She could use some after starring in her first ever dream."

"You'll have time to make her coffee later," Anger muttered, still understandably bitter after everything that happened concerning Dottie's dislike of him. "Right now she's off enjoying the spotlight."

"I wouldn't say so much 'enjoying' as 'reluctantly agreeing'," Disgust pointed out, looking in the direction the blue emotion had gone. "She looked totally unsure about leaving us behind."

"Well, sure, but come on, guys!" Joy exclaimed, keeping up her near-constant positive attitude. "Sadness deserves this! This is her moment!" Joy looked so bright at this point it was as if a spotlight was shining down on her.

Anger scoffed. "Yeah, but you wish it was _your_ moment, right?"

The spotlight-like glow promptly switched off, Joy's expression appearing less vibrant and almost sheepish. "Well, sure, I do kind of envy her for getting to talk to Rainbow Unicorn, but—"

"You wish that was you in her place, right?" Disgust asked, glancing at the yellow emotion with a knowing expression. "After _Fairy Dream Adventure Part 7_ was shown you wouldn't stop talking about Rainbow Unicorn!"

"Well... I..." Joy looked back and forth between her fellow emotions. "I mean, I _do_ wish that I could talk to her like that, but..."

After a pause, she turned to face Fear, who looked startled at being put on the spot. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Her expression itself clearly said, 'Fear, back me up here.'

Finally, the purple emotion sighed. "They're, well, they're right, Joy," he admitted. "Sadness deserves to have her time in the limelight for once."

It was that 'for once' that caused Joy's eyes to widen, feeling as if she had just gotten shocked from a static cling. It was small, true, but it got her attention.

"Hey, I'm not a control freak or anything!" she exclaimed.

The others just stared at her.

Giving small glances toward each one of them, Joy inhaled slowly, then exhaled. "At least... not anymore. I'm proud of Sadness, really." She looked over at the door Sadness had gone through, half-expecting the blue emotion to emerge any second. "She deserves it a lot more than I do."

Fear opened his mouth, intending to say something. But his uncertainty drew him back, almost afraid that what he would mention might not sound entirely sympathetic toward the yellow emotion.

And Sadness was alright now, anyway. True, she was still overwhelmed by what has been given to her, but at least she was doing more than she ever had in the last 11 years...

In fact, she seemed so much more social than she had been in the last 11 years. And with these people of Dream Productions, like Flora, Agnes, Dottie, and now Rainbow Unicorn!

Glancing over his shoulder, as if the blue emotion herself would come back with a smile on her face, he was disappointed when she never returned.

Of course, he didn't say all of this aloud. Anger would probably call him a dependent wuss, given that he often had to rely on Joy to keep the team together. Now he would probably be mocked for wanting Sadness to be close by, just so Fear would know that all his friends were within his distance.

"We're all happy for Sadness, aren't we?" Joy spoke up, driving the purple emotion out of his thoughts. "I mean, this is seriously a step-up from the console."

"With this job, will she even have time for the console?" Disgust mentioned.

"You heard what Flora said," Joy reassured her as they walked out of the studio. "Sadness will be able to balance between here and over at HQ. And besides, it's all for Riley."  
_

Sadness sipped through the straw of her juice box, sitting on a recliner chair provided for her. Across from her sat Rainbow Unicorn, sipping her coffee as she went on about the details of Dream Productions, mostly about hair and make-up, and "cutesy dreams" that really needed an upgrade. She also talked about how she got over her embarrassment from that dream two nights ago; she couldn't help that she usually was always hungry, and the food served by the studio was worth it.

The famed pony had brought Sadness to her dressing room. The walls were peach-colored with a large vanity in the center, lit brightly and with various makeup products on the table. The furniture was velvet and cushy, Sadness finding her seat nice and comfortable. A fridge stood nearby, along with a large assortment of wigs on display right next to it. Rainbow Unicorn made it very clear that her mane was natural, that the wigs were merely if the dream called for an altered appearance.

The entire place was cozy and very calming to the blue emotion. A nice place where one could be alone with her thoughts, and enjoy things by herself.

Without anyone disapproving of what she was doing.

Sadness stopped sipping her juice, pressing her lips together as she thought about back in HQ. By now she felt assured Riley was doing fine, Flora's actions were trusted. However, personal memories of being cooped up in HQ, where her room had been the only place where she could be herself without people disliking her for it...she had no tears to shed, especially not in front of Rainbow Unicorn.

Although the blue emotion was rather shy around the pony, given that this was their first official meeting of one another, she appreciated it. Sadness was certain that Joy secretly longed to have this particular moment with the famed unicorn, thus she felt rather guilty with all the attention she was getting from her.

In fact, it felt rather odd with how much attention she was being given. Like a first time in forever that she had been recognized for something good, instead of being pointed out her flaws.

Rainbow Unicorn stopped drinking her coffee, noticing the blue emotion's eyes gaze downward at the floor. She neighed softly, getting her attention.

"Huh?" Sadness peered up. "Oh, nothing's wrong...it's just that..." She lowered her juice box. "This is all so weird still...I mean, for so long I've always thought I never really measured to much except to make Riley cry."

She stared at Rainbow Unicorn, the pony's expression vividly concerned.

"And yet here I am," Sadness declared, looking around the room, picturing the studio lot she had ventured. "An actress at Dream Productions. And everyone's been so attentive toward me...everyone's been so nice to me..."

She swallowed, giving the unicorn another glance.

"Even you're so nice to me," she couldn't help but Sadness' expression fell. "I'm not really sure if I deserve this or if it's even going to last..."

She bit her lip, head lowering that her blue locks covered part of her face.

"For all I know, you all might get sick of me after today and just move on to someone else...because you want what's best and what _is_ the best, right?"

Rainbow Unicorn gawked at her in horror, nearly spilling the rest of her coffee. Some people outside of Dream Productions would consider those like her or Flora as conceited or even shallow...but that simply wasn't true!

After a moment of shocked silence, Rainbow Unicorn placed her coffee cup down. She started neighing and gesturing frantically, hoping to convey her point across enough since Sadness could understand her.

The teardrop-shaped was a bit caught off guard by the sudden energy from Rainbow Unicorn, but the pony's initial shock seemed to be slowly replaced by a more gentle tone.

Sadness nodded. "I understand. There's rumors that some show-biz people are stuck up but that's not true...some people just get the wrong impression."

Rainbow Unicorn nodded her head. She gave her new friend (she hoped they were friends) a solemn gaze, wishing she could immediately fix what was hurting Sadness inside. Emotion or not, the pony knew how to feel, despite what people outside of Dream Productions thought of her at first glance.

From what she already knew, acceptance and confidence had not been in Sadness' favor for who knew how long.

And the pony wondered if HQ was even as wonderful as some Mind Workers had mentioned...And if Joy, the leading emotion, had something to do with this...

Sadness sighed, directly facing the worried unicorn. "People pushing you back because they don't understand you...I've been there."

Rainbow Unicorn's expression softened. She gently gestured with a hoof, inviting Sadness to go on.

"Back at headquarters, I never really was given a job. I didn't have much to do because I was pushed back. Riley's mind called out for me to touch the memories, but Joy...Joy thought I was messing everything up..."

The pony's brows furrowed, fighting the urge to scowl. So the yellow emotion _was_ responsible for how her new friend was feeling right now...

Sadness simply stared at the ground, her cheeks reddening. She felt rather embarrassed having confessed a lot of things to Rainbow Unicorn. The last thing she wanted was to put the weight of her problems on someone else.

However, the emotion looked upward as a gentle hoof was placed on her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she gazed into Rainbow Unicorn's face, which appeared almost motherly, like the way Agnes doted on her daughter. The unicorn gave her a tender, sympathetic smile, her eyes shining as majestic as a sunset.

At that moment, feeling more ease, Sadness offered a faint smile in return. For Rainbow Unicorn having been a bit busy when they first met days ago, underneath it all the pony was truly kind, once one got to know her.

"After being pushed back in headquarters for so long, all of this is so new," Sadness murmured. "It's like everything's been completely turned around now that I'm here..."

After a pause, Rainbow Unicorn patted Sadness's shoulder before getting up from her seat. She went over to her desk and got a packet of papers—which Sadness realized was a script—and a pen before returning. Smiling softly, she turned to the last page of the script, of which the latter half was blank. Lowering the pen, she mimed writing and looked at Sadness with a smile.

The emotion's eyes widened, glancing from the script to Rainbow Unicorn, thinking she got what her fellow performer was trying to say.

"Are you saying you...want me to help write the scripts?"

Smiling, Rainbow Unicorn nodded.

The blue emotion's smile was everything the unicorn desired and more. Most who had never seen Dream Productions had always assumed the pony was merely a conceited person with no real heart.

Well, they never met her in real life like Sadness had.

She beamed as the teardrop-shaped individual hopped off her seat. Rushing to her side, the pony and emotion smiled at each other before the brainstorming took over.

Rainbow Unicorn was glad Sadness had accepted Flora's offer in the first place. No other emotion deserved such a job...not even the one that was supposed to distribute happiness.  
_

It had been an hour or so since they last seen Sadness, and while they weren't concerned, they were beginning to miss their blue friend more and more.

The four emotions sat around a table, behind them the food bar where they chose helpings to create their own meals. Usually when it came to dining back in HQ, they would either cook in the kitchen or have food delivered.

But eating in a different environment felt rather exhilarating, especially for Joy who was feasting on her pasta and bread. As the group ate, they resumed talking about future dreams, and wondering how Sadness was doing alongside the famous Rainbow Unicorn. They also spoke of Riley, Fear rambling that something could go wrong (to which Joy had to reassure over and over).

When it came to their kid having nearly run away, the conversation grew silent. Although Joy and Sadness already knew of the details according to what the others informed them last night, the topic brought too much pain.

If Sadness was here, she would be bawling in anguish over a certain _friend_ whom she would _never_ forget...

So pushing the events from yesterday aside, the group talked about what would be done back in HQ. Although Flora assured that auto-pilot would aid Riley, the emotions felt obligated to double on their work, just to make up for anything missed during their absence.

It wasn't like Riley would do anything terrible without their knowledge...at least, hopefully, not again...

"Okay, if they air that dream tonight," Disgust spoke through a mouthful of her tater tots, "I just hope they got a good shot of me. I mean, I made sure I was standing out in the open and everything!"

"They're really going to air all of that?" Fear asked doubtfully. "I mean, it's going to be weird."

"You want Riley to have another _Fairy Dream Adventure_?" Anger muttered, digging his fork into his slabs of beef.

"The way I see it," Joy piped in, "it'll probably give Riley a good idea how her mind works. Although not completely, given she really doesn't know how her mind works. But at least the dream is like a metaphor or something like that!"

Fear picked at his food before glancing over his shoulder. "Where is Sadness?"

"What are you so worried about?" Disgust sighed, rolling her eyes. "She's fine, remember? She's probably mingling with some other actors or signing autographs or whatever."

As the purple emotion turned back to resume his meal, he couldn't help but look up again. Hoping that maybe this time he would see their blue friend.

Sure enough, he had been right as soon as he spotted the teardrop form in their direction. She was accompanied by Rainbow Unicorn and Agnes, her daughter holding Sadness' hand. The four conversed, talking as if the emotion had known them for so long.

Fear was blown away by the confident smile Sadness possessed on her face. The way her eyes lowered in placation, and how her lips gently tweaked, practically giving off a glow of positivity. He had never seen her express like this before!

"Sadness!" Joy called out, waving rapidly at the blue emotion.

The others greeted her, overjoyed to finally see their friend again.

"Hey, guys," she said, her eyes twinkling behind her glasses. "Hope you handled okay without me. I'm pretty much done here, and Flora says I can go now."

"Don't forget about tomorrow night," Agnes reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Sadness nodded. "I'll remember that."

Rainbow Unicorn neighed in delight, excited for her new friend to come back here very soon. Same for Dottie as she held Sadness' hand even tighter.

"Do you really have to go?" she whined, giving her eyes that plead for her not to leave.

The emotion gave her a remorseful look. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," she told her gently. "But we really should check up on headquarters. This is the first time all of us have left it, and we just want to make sure it's alright. For the future if we decide to leave it more often."

Noticing her daughter's distraught expression worsen, Agnes immediately had an idea.

"Hey, Sadness," she spoke to the blue emotion, "maybe...maybe you can take my daughter with you? Until tomorrow?"

Dottie's eyes lit up with hope. Fear's however, widened in distraught.

"Stay with— _Ow_!" Fear had been about to protest, the thought of having a little kid run around headquarters not exactly being the most comforting thing in the world to him. But a punch from Anger stopped his speech in its tracks.

"Let her stay over, moron," the red emotion told him through gritted teeth. "You don't want to disappoint your biggest _fan_ , do you?"

The child looked up at the Sadness, the latter rather surprised by the request. She was immediately hugged by Dottie, who refused to let go, head pressing against her belly.

"Well," the blue emotion began thoughtfully, "I wouldn't mind. I just hope headquarters will be to her liking.

Joy, however, seemed to be nearly ecstatic over the suggestion. "That's a great idea!" She bounded over, beaming down at the young girl. "You can see the console, and say hi to Riley, _sort of_ , and we can show you our rooms, and—"

"Do we even know anything about babysitting?" Disgust cut in.

"No, but we can try!" Joy insisted. "Come on! When was the last time anyone's ever stayed over at HQ?"

"Um," Fear began as he nervously glanced over at Dottie. "Never?"

"Right, right," the yellow emotion bobbed her head with every nod. "But it's five of us taking care of one kid." She grinned at Dottie. "A really swell kid that'll bring so much fun to headquarters!"

Sadness gently laid her hand upon the child's brown hair, then looked at Agnes. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Agnes said as her daughter continued hugging Sadness. "You and Dottie have gotten along so well. I know she'll be in good hands."

Dottie beamed at Sadness, then looked at a certain brick-shaped emotion with grimace. "Just don't have him be too much of a meanie and this is gonna be the best thing ever!"

Anger crossed his arms and grumbled, but even Sadness couldn't suppress a light laugh, hugging the child back.  
_

Dottie took Sadness' and Fear's hands as they walked her toward the awaiting limo. Once Joy, Anger, and Disgust went in, the two helped her into the seat closest to the window, the empty one next to her intended for Sadness. Agnes smiled appreciatively, standing beside Rainbow Unicorn and Flora as they watched the child preparing to depart.

Fear hauled the small luggage full of things Dottie would need for one night into the limo. Her mother stated that her pajamas, toothbrush, storybook, and especially her nightlight were all packed for the evening. The purple emotion was relieved by this, having worried HQ would carry none of the necessities for a child.

The little girl grinned widely as Fear sat across from her, Sadness sitting by her side as promised. As the limo driver closed the door, the blue emotion reached over to lower the window. Dottie smiled as her mother beamed toward her.

"You be good, okay?" Agnes told her. "Don't give Sadness and the others any trouble, alright?"

"Okay, mommy," Dottie nodded obediently.

"Don't worry, Agnes!" Joy assured her, poking her head out the window. "She won't be any trouble at all!"

"Let's hope not..." Anger muttered.

Agnes nodded before planting a kiss on Dottie's forehead. Stepping away from the limo, Rainbow Unicorn rushed forward.

Sadness, who was next to Dottie the whole time as they looked out the window, was taken by surprise as hooves wrapped around her neck. Her eyes widened, nearly pulled out of the limo as she was pressed against Rainbow Unicorn, the latter neighing in farewell as she embraced her.

"Oh!" the blue emotion exclaimed before carefully patting the pony's hoof. "Um, thanks. I'll...see you tomorrow. I promise."

Joy watched as the unicorn continued hugging Sadness, her mane nearly brushing over the latter's blue locks. The yellow emotion bit her lip, unable to believe that Sadness had suddenly become Rainbow Unicorn's beloved companion in such short time.

And the hugging! Joy had only ever _dreamed_ she would even get a pat on the shoulder by the famed pony, and Sadness received a lot of that today!

But she forced a smile on her face once the embrace was finished, Rainbow Unicorn waving goodbye to Sadness as the limo began to move. Pushing her envy aside, Joy reminded herself about what was ahead once they went home, especially as her eyes drew toward Dottie, who was rambling her excitement about going to HQ. The yellow emotion's smile became more sincere as the ride resumed.  
_

After some time driving over the Roads of Recognition, the limo pulled up alongside the towering building. Joy was the first to get out, opening the door and speaking like a tour guide as the others stepped out onto the landing. Once thanking the driver who motioned the vehicle out and heading back to Dream Productions, Dottie quickly raced inside HQ, Fear having to carry her bag.

The moment she entered headquarters, Dottie's eyes lit up as if she were on the set of her favorite film.

"Oh wow!" Dottie exclaimed, looking as excited as Joy as she raced toward the console. "I can't believe it! I'm actually in headquarters!" She gave Sadness a tight hug, then Fear, bouncing around in a manner that reminded the group so much of Joy.

Turning her gaze up toward the screen, seeing the sights of San Francisco through Riley's eyes, Dottie's bouncing stopped. She stood still in awe. Even the myriad of buttons on the console were ignored for the moment as she registered the fact that right now, she was seeing what Riley saw.

Almost timidly, her mouth slightly gaped open, Dottie raised her hand in a wave. "Hi, Riley."

The others joining behind her, they realized that nothing wrong had occurred in their absence. Glancing over at the assortment of memories Flora personally chose, they seemed to have done their job right for Riley. And Family Island was still intact, so that was especially good news.

However, Riley was still the same as she had been last night. Even with one child roaming around in her mind, it did nothing to ease her out of missing Minnesota. The young blonde girl aimlessly roamed the beach and all its surroundings, keeping to herself and out of distance from people.

"Wow," Dottie murmured. "This is San Francisco? It looks pretty!"

Joy smiled in her direction. At least she seemed to accept this new place. Of course, Dottie probably was unable to tell the difference between Minnesota and California. In their old state, it was small, quiet, and simple. Here in in the golden state, it was humongous, loud, and pretty experiential every day. But unlike them, Dottie didn't seem to judge, in fact, she was enjoying every second of seeing this city through Riley's eyes.

The little girl's gaze fell on the console, and she grinned with excitement.

"Oooh!" she squealed as she regarded the biggest button of all. "Is this what you press to make a memory orb-"

 **"NO!"** the emotions, minus Sadness, cried in horror.

It was Fear who immediately raced over, just in time to take ahold of her hand, before she could even try and press the button. He tried to be gentle as possible, but his unsteady nature made him appear almost insane. Given that Dottie wasn't an emotion, and was far too young to be a Mind Worker like her mom and Flora, they were simply unsure what would happen if she pressed the button.

It wasn't like she could make Riley feel anything, be able to produce an orb of her own...but something else could happen, which none of the others were willing to see to it. Riley had already been through enough.

Dottie looked at Fear in confusion, a little disappointed she couldn't even, for one moment, experience what it would be like to make Riley react in some way. And maybe even have a souvenir orb of her own!

Fear smiled nervously, gently releasing her hand. "S-sorry..." he muttered. "T-the console is not for playing..."

"Aw!" Dottie groaned.

She looked at the wide array of buttons and switches. It reminded her of the toy purse her mom got her last week, with it colorful tabs and controls that made funny noises whenever pressed. Dottie often pictured that was how HQ worked, and given how the entire place almost reminded her of the playground...

"I thought maybe..." she sighed as she inched a finger toward the console. "I thought maybe I could touch one..."

Joy raced over and gently nudged her hand away from another switch. "Dottie, this isn't a toy," she told her, trying not to sound like she was scolding. "You nearly could have had Riley experience anything...and right now we don't want that."

Sadness watched this moment, contemplating a few things as she regarded the disappointment on Dottie's face.

"Hey, I know what you can play with!" the yellow emotion told the child cheerfully. "You can go play with the memory orbs!"

"What?" Fear cried in panic. "Joy, you can't be-"

"Let the kid play with the dang orbs!" Anger told him through gritted teeth. "Come on, what harm will she do with them?"

"Accidentally throw them out the window maybe?" the purple emotion protested, gesturing toward the still disintegrated patch of glass that faced Family Island.

They were yet to call about getting that fixed...

"Dottie is very careful," Sadness reassured him. "I'll make sure the orbs are put back when she's done."

Fear felt a small smile tweak at his lips. "Yeah, maybe you're right..."

The child was already near the library of memories. As soon as she stood in front of them, her jaw fell in amazement.

"Wow!" she cried. "Look at all the colorful balls!"

She neared a purple memory orb on the lower row. Dottie almost wanted to poke it, however, her finger never touched the surface even as she inched toward the sphere.

"Whenever mommy takes me to Long Term Memory," she said, "I always keep finding yellow ones and not really any other ones. The yellow ones kind of hurt my eyes because they're too bright. And they look like someone peed in them."

Joy blushed at this. Having been to Long Term Memory, there was hardly a green, red, purple, or even a blue orb present among the many rows of that place. Only if one looked closely and spent time venturing, but other than that, each orb had always bore her color.

Thinking about it, there had been times when the gold was practically a sun that wouldn't set. And there had been moments where it sort of blinded her friends, mainly Anger who kept to himself how the yellow orbs kept him from napping on the couch.

Suddenly Joy noticed Disgust, Fear, and Anger glancing at her knowingly.

"What?" the golden-skinned emotion muttered, still quite flushed from Dottie's comment.

Sadness took the young girl's hand before leading her to a non-yellow memory. However, unlike the others, it laid on a pillow on a nearby table, as if it was far more precious than the others for some reason.

Dottie's eyes widened in awe, completely taken by the calming blue exterior that reminded her of a soothing ocean. With Sadness nodding toward her, the little Mind Worker reached toward it.

She had never touched an orb before. Now that she did, she was almost afraid she could break it. Her mom assured her that orbs could never break, and even if they were thrown across a room, they would still be intact.

Dottie's eyes glazed over the image of Riley herself. She was standing before what appeared to be a classroom, which almost looked like Dottie's from her own school. Stroking a thumb across the orb, the scene began to unfold.

It only took a few seconds for the little girl to gasp at the sight. She quickly turned to the emotions, mainly Sadness and Joy.

"What happened to Riley in this one?" she asked.

The emotions all fell silent. They remembered that day all too well, and they were certain it would be replaying in their own minds for a long time.

The others turned to Joy and Sadness, figuring they should explain. After all, they had been the two emotions most in control at the time. Yellow and blue beings glanced at one another, before the former took a deep breath and approached Dottie.

"Well," Joy finally said, "that was Riley's first day of school. I tried to help her feel happy about it even when the teacher called her up to introduce herself. She talked about Minnesota, mentioned how her and mom and dad used to play hockey on the lake..."

She paused, remembering that was the moment that Sadness had taken control. She gestured for the blue emotion to take over the story.

Sadness complied, looking over at Dottie. "But I was compelled to touch the memory...Riley's mind needed me to help her express how sad she really was inside." She reached out to touch the blue core memory as if it were the most precious thing in the world. "And then I had her cry...And Joy tried to pull it out...and she pulled me away when I actually worked the console."

Joy couldn't help but wince. She had treated Sadness's actions before as something wrong and forbidden, when really it had been what Riley had truly needed all along.

Dottie looked at Joy, her expression filled with horror at such a thing. "Why'd you do that?"

Joy was bewildered at the question, feeling a need to defend her past, more arrogant self. "Because Riley was crying! We couldn't have her cry in front of other kids!"

"But didn't she need to cry?"

Joy fell silent. As much as part of her hated to admit it, she knew that Dottie was right.

After a pause, Sadness went on.

"So after that... this core memory was created. Joy tried to stop it, but I knew Riley needed that core memory. She needed to express how she missed Minnesota. But when Joy tried to stop me, all the core memories got knocked loose. While she was saving them, I saved this..." She gently rubbed the orb which laid in Dottie's hands. "And Joy tried to take it away from me. It got sucked up in the memory tube...and then we were sucked out of headquarters."

Joy closed her eyes, in part blaming herself for what had happened. If she hadn't tried to stop this core memory, the islands wouldn't have been destroyed. Riley's emotional state wouldn't have faltered.

She wouldn't have nearly been driven to make that horrible mistake.

And worse, she wouldn't have placed herself and especially Sadness in so much danger. Even with the other three emotions remaining, that still didn't help the situation.

Joy could just see it in Dottie's eyes, her expression almost duplicating the way she regarded Anger. The yellow emotion couldn't blame her for feeling disappointed, even peeved for what Joy had done.

Even though this kid had never run a console before, she seemed to know what was best for Riley...better than the four emotions that stood behind Sadness.

The child clutched the memory core close, as if fearing Joy would go berserk and try to rid it to the dump all over again.

"Disgust is right," she said, her tone not venomous but rather unfeeling, "you _can_ be a control freak..."

Like a hot iron knife, that cut the yellow emotion deeply. But she accepted it nevertheless. This child, despite being 5, seemed smarter than the rest of them, sharing the same intelligence, and even empathy, that Sadness possessed.

Said blue emotion came to her friend's rescue as she approached Dottie. Taking her hand, the blue being gazed into the latter's eyes, a soft smile on her lips.

"Joy's learned from everything that happened," she told her gently. "So did I. Even though everything was horrible and scary, and really sad...it all worked out in the end."

Glancing over her shoulder, she peered at the other four emotions. Joy's glow lit up much brighter, her expression that of gratitude and relief, nodding in the blue emotion's direction. The others appeared just as calmed, as if Sadness had rid all their personal problems away.

Feeling a tug on her hand, she turned back to Dottie, who gazed at her wide-eyed.

"Was it scary going out there?" she asked curiously. "Being so far from home and exploring a world you never even been to?"

"It was really scary," Sadness admitted. "But then had it not been for the experience, we wouldn't have seen all the beautiful things of Riley's mind I've only ever read about in the manuals." She smiled thoughtfully, reminiscing the adventure she and Joy had. "Like Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, and Dream Productions. And meeting very nice people along the way."

She placed her fingers to the side of Dottie's forehead, a gesture that showed to be loving.

"Like you, your mom, Flora, especially Rainbow Unicorn..."

"What about Jangles?" Fear blurted out, knowing that not the entire experience could have been thrilling. He yelped when Anger punched him on the side, shutting him up as to not ruin the precious moment.

"So don't feel too bad about what we went through, especially me," Sadness told her, "it's really changed a lot of things for us. For the better."

As these words seeped into Dottie's mind, a smile slowly emerged from her lips. Eyes shone with so much fascination and relief, gazing at Sadness with more adoration than even possible.

"Wow," Dottie murmured, clutching the core, "you really are the best emotion ever..."

Although Disgust felt envious, she mentally nodded toward Dottie's words. The others couldn't agree more, especially Joy, who felt obligated to allow Sadness that title in a child's eyes. Fear was already proud with himself, knowing he was Dottie's second favorite.

"And if you're okay," the little girl said with a smile, "then I'm okay!"

"Thank you, sweetie," Sadness murmured, a light blush on her cheeks.

All heads immediately turned as they found Riley nearing a food court. The walk through the pier and at the beach must have made her hungry, and it was nearly lunch time.

"Just wait for a moment," the blue emotion instructed Dottie. "We just need to work on this, and then we'll come back to you."

Dottie nodded, watching as Sadness and the others hurried back over to the console. Sitting on the couch, she held the core memory close, gazing at the image of Riley's tears every now and then. While the emotions were busy deciding what Riley should have for lunch, she busied herself with looking around HQ.

It was such a wide place, even bigger than the playground her mom took her to every now and then. She could probably throw a party here with all her classmates, maybe even fit her entire school! Her eyes wandered to the ramp that led to the upper floor, no doubt where the bedrooms were. She often pictured Sadness' room to have an icy blue design, almost queen/princess-like that portrayed her grace and kind nature.

Glancing around the control room, her eyes fell upon something nearby, laying just beside where the idea bulbs were.

A bag of some kind.

"Huh, guess San Francisco does have good pizza," Anger commented, Riley's eyes peering up at the menu. "I see no broccoli on any of these. She should just pig out."

"A large soda, maybe chili cheese fries..." Disgust read. "Or maybe just a slice of pepperoni and a funnel cake, how about that?"

"Hi, how can I help you?" the teenage girl asked as Riley came to the front counter.

After finally deciding on a slice of pizza, with a medium drink and fries, and a cookie for dessert, Riley reached into her pockets to get her money.

Among the bills laid her mother's credit card on the counter.

A familiar feeling of guilt rose in Anger's expression as he and the other emotions gawked at it. However, he was not as horrified as Joy, whose face could equal Riley's right now.

"You still have her mom's credit card?" she cried, whipping her head toward the red emotion.

"I forgot she had it!" Anger spoke defensively.

The teen picked up the card, making Riley stiffen. Gazing at the name carefully, she looked over the young girl.

"Do you want to charge for the food?" she asked politely.

"No, no, no!" Fear screamed, waving his arms frantically. "We can't do that to mom! Not again!"

Sadness gently pushed him aside, making way as she calmly pressed the button.

"No, that's okay," they heard Riley said, her tone shy and melancholic.

"Alright then," the food worker said cheerfully as she handed Riley back the card, taking in the bills and working the register. "Number will be called in a few minutes," she informed, handing Riley her receipt.

As Riley waited by the pick-up window, the emotions all breathed with relief. Fear couldn't help but smile graciously in Sadness' direction, unable to stop himself as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks for saving us _again_!" he exclaimed wearily.

Joy's lips pursed in a tight smile, nodding toward the blue emotion who looked up at her as if for approval. Just hearing that 'again' part made the yellow emotion feel rather guilty for a moment, before she pushed it aside as everyone cheered Sadness.

Able to leave Riley to her lunch, the others decided it was the best time to return to Dottie.

"This is a cool bag!"

All turned to the child, just in time to see her slip the blue core memory into a satchel wrapped around her shoulder. It was Joy and Sadness who stared at it with hearts tightening more than the worst knot.

Dottie giggled as she opened the candy-patterned bag again, slipping her hand into it, and daringly allowing to go all the way into the never-ending space within.

"I can even fit my whole arm in here!" she exclaimed. "Whose bag is this?"  
_


	5. Filler chapter for Christmas and my mom

**_I know people are waiting for an update, the next chapter is still in the works. This is a filler chapter, which takes place before the movie._**

 ** _Why I made this is because a lot of things have happened this December:_**

 ** _I turned 23 on December 6._**

 ** _I saw The Good Dinosaur on December 8._**

 ** _My mom died on December 22 at 4:05 PM._**

 ** _I made this filler mostly for that last one. Merry Christmas, everyone.  
__**

Anyone who was always so incredibly agitated would think Riley was having the ultimate brain freeze. But for those who were calm and level-headed knew that the frost was merely snow.

If a world different from humans could exist within a person's head, how could it be impossible for there to be snow?

Agnes barreled her fuchsia-colored car with flower-patterned wheels through the heavy white, hoping a little snow wouldn't stop her from reaching her family. Dressed in a heavy blue coat with her brown hair styled upward, she smiled as she watched neighbors and other citizens of the mind proceed for last-minute Christmas errands.

Although in Riley's world there were no candy cane waterfalls or life-size gingerbread houses, even in the mind world parking was still a hassle. Agnes had been lucky it took her twenty minutes to find a spot!

The stores had been no better. She had to fight her way through impatient parents, demanding children, and workers who were carrying and hanging Christmas daydreams everywhere.

She had walked out with a daydream for her own household. The devices shaped and designed like donuts produced imagery within their hole. Pictures like Santa Claus, cookies being baked, and even hopes of getting a hundred gifts under the tree played once it was switched on.

The daydream was stored in the trunk of her car, along with presents she bought at last-minute. Earlier, Agnes had already brought other gifts to the Train of Thought to be delivered to friends near and far. The lines hadn't been too horrible as last year, and the conductors had been making good progress.

Agnes stopped her car momentarily and gazed through her windshield.

As the snow fell, she could see Headquarters looking like a torch shining through the winter. There was never any decorations outside the building, but she was certain there were tons of it within.

Even though the emotions had never set foot outside of their mansion-like estate, at least they celebrated Christmas like any other.

At least, Agnes hoped they did...

Every year she would have the Train of Thought deliver them extra daydreams, followed by Christmas sweaters, a jug of candy cane milk, and a box of gingerbread cookies. While she had never met them, she was sure they would like to know they were especially important during the holidays.

She wondered if they thought about the people outside their comfort zone. True, Mind Workers had come into HQ to either make major deliveries or fix something, and record and scan the surroundings for just-in-case matters (like determining just what kind of person Anger was). But nothing more, the emotions were fine being just with each other, and no one else outside their little circle.

Agnes herself often had daydreams of her own, within her head she could picture the emotions taking those first steps outside their comfort zone. They would see what world was outside their own, and maybe learn to live beyond just the console.

She knew a certain blue emotion would probably desire that. Because being cooped up in a tower, wondering when 'life' would really begin for her, and feeling loneliness all year round, was not the way anyone, even an emotion, should live.

Agnes broke contact from the tower's appearance as she continued driving. The costume designer of Dream Productions kept hope that one day something would change.

And her daughter's dream would finally come true.

She halted her vehicle in front of a peach, dome-shaped house. It looked like half an Easter egg sticking out of the ground, with two balconies in separate locations. The garden, which was shrouded in snow, consisted of a variety of colored flowers with ice forming at their petals.

The multi-colored lights and plastic golden stars completely covered the house. And the moment the front door opened, Christmas music blasted out, followed by the smell of baked sweets.

"Mommy, you're here!" a small Mind Worker cheered as she raced through the snow, her boots leaving deep prints in her path.

Agnes grinned at her before another figure emerged from the house. The female Mind Worker waving at her bore the color of mint green, her hair a much darker brown.

"Sis, come inside now!" she urged happily. "The Christmas ham is finally done, and it isn't a feast until my big sis pops the cider!"

Agnes smiled as she hugged her daughter. "No, it's not a feast until the pie is on the table!" She ushered for her sister. "Come on, Gina, help me get it out of the car!"

Once everything was brought inside her sister's house, the table was already set, and all the candles had been lit. The older sister of the two marveled at the decorations of the home, from the wreaths above the fireplace to the gingerbread door of the closet, and the tree with the tips of its leaves pink, purple, and white. On the very top of it was a snowflake-shaped daydream, where holiday images played nonstop.

"Aggie, dear," Gina said as they stood around the room with holiday beverages, "isn't _he_ supposed to be coming?"

Her older sister's smile faded, replaced with an expression of reluctance. Fortunately for them, Dottie was too busy at the dinner table nibbling on cookies.

"He's not, sis," Agnes admitted with a painful sigh.

"Boy, am I _so_ surprised," Gina toned with sarcasm, rolling her amber eyes. "Some piece of work he turned out to be that poor excuse, sack of-"

"Ginny!" her sister hissed through gritted teeth before glancing over at her daughter.

"What? It's true!" the younger one insisted.

"Sis, it's Christmas," Agnes sighed, swishing her drink. "Riley and her family are having a great time at her grandma's, let's try to be the same without mentioning him, okay?"

"Alright," Gina muttered, rolling her eyes once more. Then she grinned. "So what did you get me?"

Agnes smirked. "I'm not telling you. And besides, shouldn't you be more concerned with what Santa's going to bring you this year?"

"What about what he's going to bring _you_ this year?" Gina questioned. "Like maybe someone who might replace a certain other someone-"

"I asked Santa for pair of slippers," Agnes cut in with a frown, gripping her drink. "So whatever you're thinking, it's _not_ going to happen."

"Only wishing the best for you, big sister," Gina told her mannerly before sipping her glass. "And just slippers? I asked Santa to give me a dozen shoes."

"What about the shoes he gave you last year?" the older one asked.

"Uh, hello!" the mint green Mind Worker scoffed. "Those shoes were _last year_! I want what's in this season!"

It was Agnes' turn to roll her eyes, but she smiled nevertheless. She and Gina glanced over at Dottie, who was narrowing her eyes in thought while looking at a piece of paper in front of her. She tapped her blue crayon on the table as she pondered.

"Dottie, sweetheart," Agnes called lovingly, "I thought you already had your list to Santa finished last week."

"It didn't look good enough!" her daughter whined. "And I checked! I already have a plush pony!"

Agnes smiled as Dottie resumed tediously on her letter, which was drowning in a color of crossed out words.

The belief of St. Nick himself was mutual in the mind world. Any mind world for that matter. Even when Riley becomes 12, her belief that the jolly man in red existed would still remain.

In the world of today everyone knew there was, indeed, a Santa Claus. Media, internet, and even video bloggers believed in him. And he, in return, knew about everyone.

By everyone, meaning _everyone_. Inside the mind or out.

And he was magic, so visiting people inside someone's head wouldn't be so difficult. While they never did catch a glimpse of him, Santa knew about people like Agnes and her family, not just Riley and hers.

Thinking about family, Agnes never felt more fortunate that when Riley had been born, the Mind Worker had been created with a sister. Like the emotions, almost everyone in the mind world had been "introduced" as an adult. And like those emotions, most had been brought up without parents.

When Agnes had her first steps into the mind world, she had no mother or father to take them with her. But instead, she had a sister, who came seconds after the first one did. There were some Mind Workers who were brought up with siblings, and there were those who were not.

Flora had been brought up by herself. Many of Agnes' co-workers had been alone when they were created.

The thought made her wonder if the emotions ever imagined what it would be like if they had parents of their own, maybe think of what it would have been like to start out as children. They had been up in that tower since Riley was a baby, and the only family they had was each other. None of them had been "born" with a mom or dad, only gazing into the ones that were Riley's.

Of course, they knew what love was. But until then, they might not ever realize what real love was, like the kind Agnes shared with her sister and daughter.

Gina often commented that most of the emotions were simple-minded, especially a certain one that represented happiness. However, much like Dottie, she favored a certain blue emotion, who was practically the only one with any real common sense compared to the others. Gina often expressed her dislike for the red one, while once or twice mentioned the purple one was 'alright looking'.

Dottie continued scribbling on her letter, trying to think of any random toys that came to mind. She thought about the memory orbs she witnessed during her last trip to Long Term Memory, many showing Riley's trip to the stores where children were fighting over leftover products. Some of those toys appeared alright to the small Mind Worker. But in the world of Riley's head, Dottie had seen way better toys than what humans had.

On her list she already wrote down that she wanted a toy convertible for her doll house. But there was still so much space, and Dottie sought to fill it all in for Santa to read.

"I think I just want a dinosaur too," Dottie mumbled before jotting it down.

"Please tell me you mean a toy one," Gina asked nervously. "After Riley had that dream with the T-Rex and a car backing up, I think the last thing her mind needs is an actual dinosaur roaming around!"

"I mean a toy one, silly!" Dottie giggled before regarding her list again. "I think I can put in one more thing..."

Agnes peered over her daughter's shoulder and gazed at the list. "Well, why don't you ask Santa for something a little more, I don't know, interesting?"

"Like what?" the child asked curiously.

"Oh, it can be anything!" her mother encouraged. "Maybe a plush pony that's actually alive, so she can be your pet, or a tricycle with headlights, or maybe even something you can share with your friends."

That last one had Dottie's eyes widen in realization. She gave a toothy grin before turning back to her list.

"I know what I'll ask for!" she concluded. "I'll ask him to bring us Bing Bong for Christmas!"

Gina nearly spat out her drink while Agnes stared at her daughter in shock. Before Dottie could scribble the third wish down, her mother stopped her, gently laying her palm over the crayon.

"I...I don't think Santa has the time to find Mr. Bing Bong and bring him over here," she told her carefully.

"Why?" Dottie asked, her innocence nearly breaking Agnes' heart. "I mean, you told me about him a bunch a times. I thought you'd like Mr. Bing Bong to spend Christmas with us."

Agnes swallowed, her heart growing heavy. She shared a quick glance with her sister, who only shrugged.

"Sweetheart," she began, gazing into her daughter's eyes. "Mr. Bing Bong is a very busy man."

"He can't be too busy for Christmas, could he?" Dottie gasped.

"Oh, he loves Christmas," Agnes assured her. "He...he just likes to spend it some other way."

"Is he all alone?" Dottie asked, worry evident in her tone.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sure he's not alone," her mother promised.

"Yeah!" Gina added quickly. "I mean, just because no one's seen him for years doesn't mean he's not having a great Christmas!"

"I never met him..." Dottie sighed, lightly doodling on her. "You and Aunt Gina never met him either...

Agnes bit her lip. She had never seen Bing Bong up close and personal, only through the screen where it showed both him and a much younger Riley play together. She recalled those trips in Long Term Memory where she would stumble across an orb that featured the pink elephant, and she would watch it for hours.

Her heart fell when she recalled how just a few days after seeing those memories, they had been gone from aisles they were discovered. Maybe the Forgetters were just careless and got rid of nearly any memories that were beneficial...or almost everyone really didn't remember him anymore.

And this was before Dottie was born.

She mentally sighed before rubbing her daughter's head. "Sweetie, Mr. Bing Bong is a very important part of Riley's life. I'm sure one day we'll meet him without Santa's help."

The hopeful look on her daughter's face overwhelmed Agnes with despair. Fortunately for her, Gina stepped in.

"How about asking Santa for something a little easier?" the younger sister asked carefully.

Dottie turned back to her list. "Yeah, you're right. Besides Mr. Bing Bong, there was someone else I wanted to meet for Christmas..."

Agnes didn't even have to ask, rubbing her daughter's head comfortingly. "Honey, I'm not really sure if Sadness can come over for Christmas."

"Why not?" the child whined. "It's not like she's having a nice Christmas in Headquarters!"

"What makes you say that?" her mother asked.

"Besides four other emotions who have no idea what they're doing?" Gina couldn't help but quip.

Dottie frowned as she doodled a teardrop shape on her letter. "She's always stuck up there in that big tower with mean people like Anger and Disgust. And Joy probably won't share her presents with anyone...if Santa didn't give her coal yet."

"But she's with Fear, isn't she?" Agnes reassured, placing her hands on Dottie's shoulders.

That made the child smile a little more. "Yeah, Fear is nice...he would never be mean to anyone."

However, the smile fell, and the doodling stopped.

"I really wish she could come over for Christmas, mommy," Dottie murmured. "We would make it her best Christmas ever. And for Mr. Bing Bong too if he ever comes over."

Agnes didn't want to crush her daughter's hopes of ever meeting these two special people. After all, the woman herself still clung to the belief. It was practically a dream to meet the once-famed Bing Bong, and especially the quiet and kind emotion known as Sadness.

She peered at the list. Then she smiled.

"You know what Santa can give you?" she encouraged before wrapping her fingers around Dottie's hand, guiding the crayon.

Gina approached the table and watched what her sister was doing. Her eyes widened in amazement as the words came into view.

 ** _A stuffed pink elephant with a little detachable blue orb._**

Dottie gasped in delight as she gazed at the third item. "I'd like that so much!"

"Me too," Agnes smiled. "It's what I want from Santa too."

After adding the finishing touches to the letter, Dottie folded it up before planting a kiss on it. Later before going to bed she would put it on the coffee table, along with milk and cookies.

"Okay, now that that's out of the way," Gina spoke. "Can we please eat now?"

"Alright, we can start," Agnes said. "Can you go get the potatoes? I think they're already done."

While her sister went into the kitchen, Dottie joining her to get the pitcher of milk for her to drink, Agnes looked at the folded letter. She carefully opened it, scanning over the crossed out requests to "bring Mr. Bing Bong for Christmas" and "bring Sadness for Christmas".

Refolding it, she looked out the window where the snow began to settle. The lights of the other houses blinked in rhythm with the stars.

There were just some things Santa couldn't bring. And sometimes one couldn't count on Santa to bring what mattered most.  
_

 ** _I'm asking Santa for an LE 150 Bing Bong pin this year! :D_**


	6. Chapter 5: Room with a Blue

_**Hey, it's been a while since I updated any of my fanfics. My mom's funeral back in January was beautiful, and my dad and I are beginning to adjust to just us two at home. My friends and family are awesome as usual, and Zootopia was everything I hoped for and more. And I'm currently taking a Pharmacy Tech class, a suggestion my mom made because she and dad know I wouldn't enjoy nursing. I'm still clinging to the writing and animation dream, and being a pharmacy technician seems pretty cool from what I'm learning in class. :)**_

 _ **Again, I would like to thank PotterPhantomKitten for being my co-writer, and making this story awesome.**_

 _ **Also, feel free to visit the TV Tropes page for this fanfic. :)**_

 _ **Happy belated Easter!**_

 _ **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! :D  
_**_

At Dottie's words, somber looks crossed Joy and Sadness's faces, the pair of emotions feeling as if a knife had been being driven through them instantly. Especially as they gazed at the bag that represented memories of their very own.

The owner of that satchel had been Sadness' first real friend. The one that contributed to helping save Riley. The person that made such a sacrifice to get Joy out of the abyss of the Memory Dump, so she could find Sadness and return to Headquarters, so everything would be fixed.

He was practically their hero. And neither Joy nor Sadness ever had the chance to tell him that, or even managed a word of thanks before leaving him.

Anger, Disgust, and Fear shifted their gazes toward the duo who knew the imaginary friend better than anyone. True, they had known Bing Bong as well, but that had been in the past, back when Riley had been very little and they would watch him play on their screen. This was a story to be told only by the two who had witnessed everything in the final moments of Riley's first best friend.

Joy and Sadness glanced at one another, as if mentally debating on who should be the one to speak up. Finally, Joy placed a hand on Sadness' shoulder, giving her a nod.

With that, the blue emotion stared at Dottie, who was now sticking her head into the bag and trying to reach further down.

"It belonged to a friend," Sadness said finally, her voice sounding almost too soft and incredibly broken. "Bing Bong."

"Bing Bong?" Dottie's voice was at first slightly muffled by the bag before she got herself upright, looking at Sadness with widened eyes and a broad smile on her face. "I remember mommy telling me about him!" she said, growing excited. "He was Riley's imaginary friend when she was really, really little! Even more little than me! Mom always told me stuff about him, but she never met him..."

Hooking the bag around her shoulder, her eyes glanced from left to right, grinning with anticipation.

"I didn't know you met him! I want to meet him! And I want him to meet mommy too! Where is he?" Her gaze lifted toward the stairwell. "Is he upstairs?"

There was that internal pain again.

Sadness swallowed hard, coming over to Dottie and placing a sincere hand on her shoulder. Dottie regarded this in confusion before her eyes met the emotion's, and her smile slowly began to drop.

"Bing Bong..." Sadness uttered forcefully, trying not to tear up. "...isn't around anymore."

The child raised a brow, appearing even more confused. "Isn't around? Where did he go?"

Sadness gritted her teeth. She turned to Joy for guidance, the yellow emotion gesturing with a hand for her to resume. Looking back at Dottie, the teardrop-shaped being slowly got on one knee, her eyes directly in front of the young girl's.

"Dottie," she began carefully, "do you know what the Memory Dump is?"

The child nodded. "Yes," she murmured. "It's what this place is standing on." She pointed toward the window. "Down there are memories Mind Workers say Riley doesn't want anymore. Where they get thrown away and just...fade."

Her voice trailed after that last word, contemplating how hurtful it was to learn that memory orbs could just be discarded at a whim. She still couldn't understand what Sadness was trying to tell her. However, she sensed something was wrong as a lone tear fell down the blue emotion's cheek.

"Dottie," Sadness spoke woefully, "Bing Bong was in there."

At that moment it all immediately sank in, and Dottie's eyes flew open in horror. _"What?"_ she cried out. "You mean he's..."

Sadness held her breath as she nodded.

Dottie's shoulders slumped, her expression melancholic at the realization that she would never get to meet Riley's childhood friend. That her mom would never meet the person she would often talk about and describe to her daughter. What hurt the most was that he had been forgotten, just like that. As if Riley no longer cared about him, and he was just some little memory not worth remembering.

The child's heart broke, wondering if that was just how a human's mind worked. A person could have millions of people working inside his or her mind, and that person wouldn't care if one suddenly _faded away_. Like a precious memory that was merely insignificant and garbage to that person. It was something her mom tried to persuade her not to think about. Even though she was only 5, Dottie was already aware of reality.

But did reality have to be _this_?

"Mr. Bing Bong..." Dottie choked, although she had no tears to shed. She looked at Sadness, her expression paining the emotion even more. "But how?"

It was then Joy stepped forward. "Remember when..." she took a deep breath, "when Riley ran away the other day?"

Dottie nodded. "Yeah. I got scared when the sky was turning all dark..." Her expression fell. "I thought everything was going to disappear, and I wouldn't see mommy again."

Sadness noticed the child's distress, and carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders like a caring mother. The blue emotion then glanced at Joy and nodded for her to resume.

"When that happened," the yellow emotion went on, "Sadness and I were trying to get back to Headquarters, and Bing Bong and I fell into the Memory Dump. I kept trying to climb out, but I just kept falling back down."

Dottie leaned more against Sadness, her eyes sorrowful for the imaginary friend's fate and with rapt attentiveness at Joy's story.

The yellow emotion swallowed, stepping closer and kneeling down to be more on Dottie's level. "When I was down there, I found a memory that both Sadness and I considered our favorite, and I realized that I was wrong to try to tell Sadness to stay away from the console." Her eyes then trained on the blue being with an apologetic expression. "Riley _needed_ Sadness."

The teardrop-shaped emotion in question managed a half-smile at Joy's sincerity.

Joy then turned back to Dottie again. "That was when I knew that we had to get back up there, and Bing Bong and I found his song-powered rocket. We kept trying to launch it up and almost making it out of the Dump, but no luck..."

Joy took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Then...Bing Bong said for me to try one more time, and he told me to sing louder. I was singing at the top of my lungs and I finally landed on the cliff above the Memory Dump. I thought we both made it, but..." Joy realized that she could feel tears forming at the edges of her eyes. "I realized that he had jumped out of the rocket to give me enough lift to get out. He told me to go on and save Riley... and he said..."

Dottie felt Sadness squeeze her shoulder, and the child pressed deeper against the emotion.

"...'Take her to the moon for me, okay?'"

Joy hardly realized that she was crying now, but Dottie definitely noticed. She could see how special Bing Bong was to these two emotions. Even though Riley forgot him, that didn't mean he was nothing. If Dottie had only met the imaginary friend...he wouldn't just be an imaginary friend.

He would have had _real_ friends.

The young girl then carefully reached forward and took Joy's hand, pulling the three of them into a tight group hug.

Joy didn't think the child liked her enough to bring her into an embrace. But as she learned last night when she had been trapped in that dump, with nearly fading core memories and a dear companion: help came because of sadness.

Tears fell down the yellow emotion's cheeks as Dottie pressed between her and the blue emotion. Joy almost feared the child would cry as well, over this painful news for someone she had wanted to meet so desperately, possibly as much as she did for Sadness.

But Dottie was calm, her expression as empathetic as Sadness'. The hug reminded Joy too much of the one Bing Bong gave to the teardrop-shaped emotion, his candy tears spilling out, and all his distress slipping away.

If Joy could turn back the clock, she would have been more comforting to him. Instead of trying to cheer him up and force him to feel happier despite his dilemma...

Pulling away, Joy gave a pained smile, wiping an arm across her face. Dottie's lips pressed in a thin line of a grin, her blue eyes ever sympathetic. She glanced over at Sadness, who held no smile, but a light nod of her head toward Joy. There were tears in her eyes, making her sparkle, but she wiped them away as well.

"My mommy always told me that when things are forgotten," Dottie spoke softly, a slight lisp to her tone, "they aren't entirely forgotten. That there's always a way to remember them. Like that time I lost my favorite stuffed animal at the park, and I was really sad over it."

The little girl held her hands together, eyes falling to the floor.

"It took a long time before I eventually forgot about missing it," she sighed. "But there were times I could still dream about having never lost it." She looked up at Joy and Sadness. "It sort of hurts, but it makes me a little happy...right?"

Both emotions had to admire the child for providing some comforting words. If she was trying to be more like Sadness, she was doing an outstanding job. Emotion or not, she truly knew how the make the workers of HQ feel. Anger, Disgust, and Fear watched from the side, hearts mending a bit over a child whose presence brought some light on their friends' emotional agony.

Joy forced a smile, wiping her nose. "I'm sure it does, Dottie," she told the child. "Thank you for that..."

Sadness laid a hand on the little girl's shoulder, looking at the bag that hung from it. Her personal core memory fit so perfectly inside it.

"You really would have loved Bing Bong," the blue emotion told her. "You two really would have gotten along together."

The daughter of a Mind Worker stiffened, wishing that could still happen. But she just bit over a smile, nodding.

"I know I would," she said. "Mommy would too."

After a few moments of silence, the tears had finally dried up. Joy's lips slowly eased into a more gentle smile, one especially appearing sincerely cheerful.

"Okay, I'm feeling better," she breathed. "Now how about we go show you around HQ?"

Sadness gave a genuine smile at this, wrapping an arm around Dottie. She glanced over at the three other emotions. "Fear?"

The purple emotion suddenly yelped in surprise, having not expected his name to be called, especially after what just occurred.

"Uh, yeah, Sadness?" he asked, wringing his hands rather nervously, cheeks growing a bit red.

"Could you make a snack for Dottie?" the blue emotion requested. "I'm sure she'll get hungry later."

His eyes rose in surprise, then his mouth hung open in a pleased grin.

"Well, sure!" he said with delight. "I'll make her a nice, safe snack for her to have in a bit!"

"Don't kids just eat the same thing we do?" Anger said gruffly, looking over at Disgust. "Or better yet, just give her candy?"

"As long as it isn't mints," the green emotion huffed.

"Come on, Dottie," Sadness said gently, taking the child's hand. "You can play with the orbs later. How about we show you upstairs?"

The child's eyes lit up. "Really?" She held onto the bag that hung at her side. "Can I bring this with me too?"

The blue emotion glanced once more at what was the only thing left of her dear friend. Although her heart tightened, she gave a nod.

Dottie grinned. "And just so you know, your memory core is safe with me!" she said proudly.

Sadness and Joy shared a tender glance, both smiling at each other. Leading her up the ramp with the others following behind them, they reached the second floor.

Dottie was greeted by a wide hallway, doors on both sides. Blinking, she didn't need to think twice over whose room was which, the doors coded with the trademark colors of the emotions.

"So which room do you want to see first?" Joy asked, excitement creeping back into her tone. "You want to see my room first and save Sadness' for last?"

The child glanced from the yellow and blue doors, then her eyes fell on the last three colors. She peered at a certain red door, clutching Bing Bong's bag even tighter to herself.

"Is Anger's room really a dump?" she couldn't help but ask curiously. "My aunt told me he can dress nicely and probably has exercising stuff, but is just a slob."

The red emotion tried not to burst into flame at such a disrespectful assumption. He never even met the child's aunt! Who was she to judge him like that? Unless she and her niece shared more in common than he was afraid to believe.

"Hey!" Anger exclaimed with an indignant scoff. "Yeah, I have exercise equipment, but my room is **NOT** a dump!"

"You sure about that?" Disgust asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, no offense," Fear spoke, keeping some distance between himself and the red emotion, "but you're not exactly the tidiest person here."

Just before Anger could yell at both of them, Joy lightly shoved the red brick forward, directing him toward her door. The yellow emotion shook her head with a smile before ushering the child to her room, swinging the yellow door wide open.

"Welcome to my room!" she said proudly.

Dottie stepped over the threshold, papers crinkling under her feet at the first step. She looked down, noticing the forms of sealed envelopes, which she quickly lifted her foot off of. "Oh, sorry, Joy."

"Ah, it's okay," the leading emotion said, picking up the mail and tossing it aside. "Most of the time it's junk mail."

Looking past the four flat stones from the door, Dottie beheld the rest of Joy's room. Just beyond the stones was a green fuzzy mat, with flowers dotting parts of the edges and a pair of sandals to the right of it. She took notice of a smaller white mat that looked like a cloud with Joy's name on it, fluffed and placed like a pillow.

Dottie tilted her head, noticing it was positioned on the left rim of what was the most unusual bed she had ever seen.

"You sleep in a _bathtub_?" she asked aloud.

Joy shrugged sheepishly. "It's relaxing to wake up to. Then I feel refreshed and ready to start the day!"

"I was expecting it to be a bit more bouncy," Dottie murmured, trying to find the right words, staring at what could have just been the bathroom.

None of the other emotions dared say a word. They just continuously gawked at the bathtub, wondering what on Earth their friend was thinking.

"Well that's what that place is there for!" Joy exclaimed, pointing to the window behind the bathtub, pink curtains draped along the sides.

Through it, Dottie could see what appeared to be an entirely different setting, with a bright sky and a grassy field with a path that led straight to a familiar-looking house. In fact, it looked like a replica of Belle's house from _Beauty and the Beast_.

"Hey!" Dottie exclaimed. "I think I know that house!"

Joy beamed. "It's from one of my favorite movies, except it's for my happy place. The inside's way different!" A broad grin lit up the yellow emotion's face. "I ought to show it to you sometime! There's a bed that's like a trampoline—I sleep there when I'm really in a bouncy mood—and a ball pit and so much other awesome stuff!"

The others peered straight out the window, just as surprised as Dottie was. Sometimes they just really couldn't understand Joy...but it was still a wondrous sight!

Dottie grinned at the thought, her eyes then trained on the final major feature of the room—the framed pictures and paintings that hung on the wall facing the bathtub. "You paint?"

"Yup!" Joy exclaimed. "I make my paintings in that house over there, then when I finish them, I bring my favorites and hang them on the wall."

Dottie looked in astonishment at all of them. One of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Joy trying out ballet, and Disneyland. Her eyes then fell on one to the lower right of the recent picture. It showed Joy smiling and hugging someone that looked a little familiar.

Upon further analyzation, she realized that the person in the picture appeared to be an "older" version of the yellow emotion.

"Um, Joy? Who's that lady in the painting with you?"

Joy turned, and stopped at the picture Dottie was indicating. The broad smile on her face slowly fell, but then noticing Dottie's look, she quickly tried to put on her cheery expression.

"Oh, that just, um, uh, no one important!"

But Dottie wasn't convinced. She saw the expression that flickered on Joy's face. The others took great notice, staring at the picture before turning to their friend expectantly.

The young girl planted her feet firmly on the ground, looking pleadingly at the leading emotion. "Joy, come on, who is that hugging you?"

Joy gazed down at the child, then at the picture. It had been perfectly positioned on the wall, just above the faucet so it was among the first things that Joy saw when she woke up. The yellow emotion still smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"That's what I imagine my mom would look like."

The others remained silent. Sadness regarded her golden-skinned friend sympathetically, recalling the painting too well.

It was when Riley had turned 2 did Joy's painting take a different turn. Before having created such a piece, she often watched Riley as her mother raised her, from the most adorable playtimes to moments when Riley was cranky and in need of a hug.

Joy had been firm in her belief that she was, indeed, a mother to their growing girl, despite what Anger, Fear, and Disgust have often told her. When Riley was alone, the yellow emotion took those chances to give her sweet thoughts, and just being able to make her know someone was, indeed, watching her. She even sang to her when the moment was right.

And she never stopped believing she was Riley's mom, just like the rest of the emotions were her family (although Daddy Anger was rather questionable, but mainly just a joke made by Disgust...).

It took some time for Joy to wonder: how come emotions don't have parents?

When she had first been brought into Riley's mind, she sought no mother or father, mainly exploring the interior of what was her home. Through the eyes of baby Riley, she saw her parents, and Joy had been in awe when they cooed over Riley's gentle first laugh.

In some way it felt as if they were cooing over Joy. And for the moment she thought maybe she could call them _her_ parents.

But that could never be, even though they were within the head of the couple's daughter. And they obviously had emotions of their own, with probably a Joy that coddled over Mrs. Andersen like her own child.

None of the others ever imagined what their parents would look like. But Sadness, to herself, did often wonder if there were those in relation who would love and accept her. Like a mom, a dad...a brother...a sister...an aunt and uncle...possibly someone that could become _very_ special to her...

She blinked away those thoughts before glancing over at Joy, whose eyes never left the picture. The blue emotion had caught sight of it on the way to her own bedroom. The yellow emotion's door had been slightly ajar, and Sadness had peaked out of curiosity. It wasn't like she had much to be done, having all the liberty in the world during that time.

The woman looked like Joy, only what possibly could have been her if she was "older". Emotions never aged, but that didn't stop the leading emotion from ever wondering if.

Like what could have been if nature, science, or whatever allowed their existence granted them families that would have raised them...

To Sadness, it was a nice, comforting thought. To Disgust, she would rather eat broccoli every day than associate with a mother she could never agree with; or Anger who didn't want to butt heads with someone that was his dad; or Fear, who would constantly live in worry if he had parents he believed would never be proud of him.

Dottie kept staring at the painting, being reminded of the portrait featuring the child and her mother.

When she was 3, she asked her mom if one day, if she ever visited HQ, she would play with the emotions. She had presumed they were kids her age, with parents of their own. Agnes had gently broke the news that emotions "arrived" as adults, that they never started out as babies like Dottie did.

Emotions don't have families. They could love and possibly marry if they desired to like anyone who was a non-emotion. But overall, they weren't fortunate enough to have what Dottie did.

Although Dottie was only 5, she was smart enough to realize how much it secretly must hurt to not have a mom. Even though Joy was not her favorite emotion, not even close to Sadness, the child felt for her. Although she was bossy, Dottie did prefer her over Disgust or Anger.

"She looks really pretty, Joy," she complimented politely, remembering the manners her mother had taught her. And she was being honest.

The yellow emotion forced out a smile that was quite sincere. She felt guilty having started off Dottie's tour with the mourning of a forgotten friend, and then topping it off with the mourning of never having had a mom.

"Thanks," she told her softly. She began to perk up, glancing over at Sadness who gazed at her sympathetically. "So what do you think of my room?"

Dottie beamed. "I like it! It reminds me of Imagination Land a bit."

"Imagination Land?" Sadness spoke up. "Oh, Joy and I were there not too long ago. Right, Joy?" she asked, turning to the yellow emotion.

"Our first experience was pretty fun," Joy stated. "You go there a lot?"

"On some weekends or when I don't have school," Dottie confirmed.

"School actually exists here?" Disgust whispered to Fear and Anger who just shrugged.

Dottie's smile faded for a moment. "My mom told me they tore down some things there...like the castle and even the teddy museum..."

Joy gazed at her sympathetically. "Aw, it'll be okay. Maybe they'll replace it with something better, more fun. Right, Sadness?"

The blue emotion stood to attention. "Uh, right, Joy!"

Dottie's smile slowly came back, looking at Joy before beaming at her favorite emotion.

"Maybe you're right," she said. "I do mostly like the giant fries, anyway."

"Hold on, you like the fries?" Joy asked excitedly.

Dottie nodded. "My mom sometimes cuts a big one into pieces, and we take some home for snack later. Did you and Sadness try them?"

"I haven't," the blue emotion admitted.

"Well, I've had a small taste," Joy murmured, recalling that little stunt she pulled to catch up to her friend who floated away on a cloud.

As Dottie and Sadness conversed a bit, especially about saving the latter's room for last to see, Joy snuck over to Fear.

"Please tell me we have frozen fries in the fridge!" she whispered frantically. "Or at least some potatoes to cut them into!"

The purple emotion tensed. "I don't know! Disgust keeps hogging the chicken nuggets!" he whined, jerking a thumb toward the green emotion.

"Well, maybe if someone ordered more groceries, I wouldn't have to!" Disgust spat.

Joy groaned and rolled her eyes before turning back to Dottie. "So...this is my room, whose do you want to see next?"

The child pondered for a moment. However, before she could reach a decision, Disgust stepped in. She put on her friendliest face, hoping Dottie would realize that the green emotion was far too fabulous to look like Riley's most hated vegetable.

"Hey, how about seeing mine?" she asked cheerfully, bending toward her.

Dottie looked at her thoughtfully. "Is your bed made of broccoli like you?"

The green emotion fought the urge to scream with frustration, already aware Anger was smirking. Even Fear was actually trying to hold back a chuckle at her!

"Uh, no," she said through gritted teeth, her left eye twitching.

"Are you sure?" Dottie asked innocently. "I mean, I kind of thought you use broccoli shampoo to make your hair look like that stuff too."

Disgust's teeth clenched tighter. "What? No, I don't! I would never let anything related to broccoli get near my hair, let alone my mouth!"

"Then why does your hair look like it?" Dottie asked with that innocent expression again.

Disgust groaned, certain the child was just trying to annoy her. "Okay, does my hair honestly look like broccoli to you?"

"Well, it's kind of shaped like it, the color's the same too..." the child murmured casually.

Disgust wanted to facepalm. "My hair naturally goes this way! I don't sleep on a bed of broccoli, I don't shampoo my hair with broccoli, there is nothing related to broccoli in my room whatsoever!"

Dottie grinned. "Okay then! I wanna see your room next!"

"Gladly," Disgust said, managing to plaster on a smile despite her irritation at the whole broccoli comparison (especially with Anger snickering at her).

The group exited Joy's room, the yellow emotion herself momentarily glancing back before closing the door behind her. The group went down the hall, past some of the other doors before they reached Disgust's room.

Anger leaned close to Dottie. "She secretly has a stash of broccoli hidden in her closet!"

Disgust fumed, hearing Anger's words and his subsequent snickering. "I do not!"

Dottie giggled a little, but still glanced at Anger with an expression that clearly said, "I still really don't like you."

The group filed into Disgust's room, and Dottie's eyes widened. Alongside the wall was a large vanity the same color as Disgust's scarf, and the mirror appeared very much like those she recognized from Dream Productions.

Over by her bed to the left, some cut-outs from Disgust's favorite magazines were pinned to the walls, with a stack of undamaged magazines sitting next to her bedside table. Her open closet was filled with various clothes, as well as different-colored scarves. While her bed was decorated with green shades, it certainly didn't look like it was made of broccoli. Just a gentle green that was somewhat similar to grass in the summer.

Dottie's eyes rose in amazement. "Wow, nice room!"

"See, what I did tell you?" Disgust asked with a smug grin. "No broccoli in sight!"

"Wow, Disgust, I'm impressed," Anger said. "You actually cleaned up the place for once!"

"Hey, I'll have you know I keep my room neat and orderly all the time! Unlike a certain _someone_ "

Anger huffed. "I have moments of organized chaos when I need to vent at something dumb, okay?"

"Admit it, you're a slob!"

"I keep my room just as organized as yours!"

"Oh, what, books categorized in order of idiocy?"

"Hey!"

Joy shook her head, laughing. "Come on, we all have our little quirks in our rooms! They're expressions of ourselves!"

"And this one expresses Disgust's always wanting to barf," Anger grunted, jerking a thumb at the green emotion's direction.

"Oh, like your room would be any better, you stump!" she retorted furiously.

"Okay!" Joy intervened, smiling sheepishly at Dottie. "So, what do you think of the room?"

The child looked around, somewhat reminded of the dressing rooms back in Dream Productions. She did appreciate that Disgust was, indeed, interesting in fashion...yet green simply was not Dottie's color.

"It's nice," she admitted.

"Really?" Disgust said, smiling hopefully that the kid would finally adore her the way she did with Sadness.

"But there's just so much green," Dottie added, looking at her with a grimace. "It feels like I'm walking through a vegetable garden."

Disgust's expression fell, fighting the urge to retort and nearly rip her own hair out with frustration.

"Hey, I got color!" she pointed out. "You've seen my clothes!"

"Do you have anything interesting like in Joy's room?" Dottie asked, gazing around.

Disgust's frown slowly lifted up. "I do, actually."

She led the child toward another door at the end of the room. Gesturing for the child to halt, the green emotion jiggled the knob before opening it. Swinging the door aside, she flipped a switch before the lights came on.

Dottie's, as well as everyone else's, expression was full of awe as she stepped into the other room. It presented itself like a warehouse, only fancier, and the walls were designed mint green. There were aisles, with each shelf containing either cosmetics or accessories, something the emotions have often seen Disgust have with her on some occasions.

Even the shelves were painted in fuchsia, much like Disgust's scarf. Everything was organized, from where the powders were to the lip glosses, and there was a vanity mirror at the very end of the room where one could pose and test out the products.

"Wow..." Dottie murmured as if she was entering an emporium.

Disgust grinned, satisfied with the child's reaction. "You like it? I never have enough makeup and accessories. So I just keep ordering and stock up. I spend my time here, especially after when I just protected Riley from eating some nasty broccoli omelets her dad sometimes makes, hoping it would 'liven the Monday'." she said, making air quotes with her fingers.

Dottie gazed at the aisle closest to her, peering at the accessories she was even lucky to see in Dream Productions. As the daughter of a costume designer, her mother was always creative when it came to producing accessories, especially for _Fairy Dream Adventures_. She designed bows, hats, and even scarves, anything that would be perfect for Rainbow Unicorn's next production.

But all this that Disgust had could develop that series even more colorful than it already was!

She stopped in front of a shelf that had large tubes containing some type of liquid, which was green. Dottie reached over and picked one up out of curiosity.

"What's this?" she asked, holding it toward Disgust.

"Oh, that's my mascara," the fashioned individual of the group explained. "It helps keep my lashes naturally long."

Dottie peered at her, particularly those large, tadpole-shaped extensions that protruded from the emotion's face. She held back the urge to ask if Disgust had ever frightened anyone at night with them, maybe even hang something on one just because those lashes were so large and thick.

"How about I give you a makeover?" Disgust asked excitedly.

"Um, mommy says I'm too young to wear makeup," Dottie said sheepishly. She looked at the tube in her hands, playfully unscrewing the cap. "But I sure do want to know what this stuff can do!"

Disgust smiled, feeling more satisfied before turning to the others.

"See?" she said proudly. "All it takes is a little bribery with materials just to get into a kid's heart."

Fear was about to respond. However, as soon as he noticed Dottie, he emitted a yelp of fright, the others appearing especially horrified. Disgust watched them in confusion, before turning back to the child.

 _"Oh, my gosh!"_ she cried.

Dottie had apparently taken advantage of the mascara, more than Disgust would have permitted. The child, whose mother always took care of her face, had applied an excessive amount of the gloppy green stuff, thinking that it was some kind of special face cream. She had applied onto her cheeks like blush, around her lips like gloss, and even on her eyebrows, thinking they deserved it just as much as her eyelashes.

She giggled to herself, enjoying the ticklish feel of the brush on her face. Although she wished the content she was applying was more blue, much like Sadness.

Disgust gasped. "Dottie, you're not supposed to wear it like _that_!"

Fear flinched. "It won't poison her, will it?" He was on the verge of racing to get towels to clean Dottie up himself, with the inclusion of a hazard suit.

Disgust shook her head in exasperation. "Of course not!" She returned with a white cloth, bringing it close to Dottie's face to wipe off the excess makeup. "I use it to help make my eyelashes longer and straighter, so if you don't get it off fast it tends to stick."

"You can get it off, right?" Dottie asked, immediately becoming worried. Her mother wouldn't be pleased at all if she returned from her adventure looking like some horror film monster.

"Don't worry," Disgust assured, wiping off the mascara from the younger girl's face. "It's going to be fine."

"Maybe you can put some on again another day and scare everyone at Halloween!" Anger joked.

Disgust fought the urge to roll her eyes, as she wiped the gooey makeup from Dottie's forehead.

"So, Dottie," Joy said, laughing a little at the child's makeup-covered appearance. "Whose room do you want to see next?"

"Anger's!" the child immediately replied once Disgust had succeeded in removing the last of the makeup from her face. "I wanna see if it's really as messy as Disgust says!"

"It is not!" Anger argued.

There were a few chuckles from the group, Disgust placing the cloth on her vanity before filing out of her room with the others. The red door leading to Anger's room was a little down the hall from Disgust's, and Dottie eagerly swung it open.

The walls of the room were decorated in red tones, preferably antique due to the color. Off in one corner of the room was a series of weights and exercise equipment, with a bookshelf against the wall displaying stacks of articles from The Mind Reader beside it.

The red emotion's bed presented itself similarly to a square, the trademark colored blanket on top appearing enough to keep him warm at the night.

"Did you take my advice to get fireproof stuff yet?" Fear asked timidly.

Anger rolled his eyes.

Dottie surveyed the room, her eyes falling on the exercise equipment. "Is that why your hands are so big?"

The expression on Anger's face turned smug. "As a matter of fact, these babies are all muscle!"

"You liar!" Disgust scoffed. "Your hands look the same now as they did when you first showed up!"

Anger scowled at her, his hands forming into fists. "Yeah, maybe I did arrive looking like this. Just like _you_ came here looking like broccoli just as you do _now_!"

Fear trembled at the comeback, he and the other emotions glancing over at Disgust nervously. Her eyes widened in distraught, no doubt having felt the jab deeper than any would have expected. The purple emotion quickly bent down, holding Dottie by the shoulders should the argument grow more intense. He especially stood close by Sadness, who also hovered over Dottie much like her mother would.

Disgust's green face merged as red and heated as Anger's, producing a scowl scarier than one glance at Jangles the Clown.

"You take that back, shorty!" she screamed.

"Make me, you overgrown weed!" he spat.

Joy rubbed her temples, unable to believe Dottie was seeing all this. If the child was permitted to visit HQ again, the yellow emotion only hoped things would be much better a second time. While Fear and Sadness stood protectively by Dottie, Joy quickly intervened.

"Hey, hey, hey!" she called, stepping between Disgust and Anger.

She laid a hand on the green emotion's shoulder, surprising Disgust who stared at her in confusion.

"Okay, first off, you don't look like broccoli," Joy assured her. "You're just so green people just think you are." She laid her fingers on the hem of Disgust's skirt. "Maybe add a little more color so people won't get the wrong impression. Huh, maybe put something in your hair! You have lots of stuff for your head, right?"

Disgust paused, thinking over what Joy said. Satisfied with the results, the yellow emotion zipped toward Anger, taking him by surprise.

"Also," Joy informed, turning from Disgust to the other emotions, especially Dottie, "Anger here is all natural."

The red emotion's eyes widened in surprise when she suddenly reached down and grabbed his arm. He remained stunned as she jerked it upward, nearly lifting him off the floor.

"See?" Joy said, waving his arm to show one of his large palms. "All natural! He was big and strong when he first came here. He's still big and strong now!"

She looked down at him, smiling appreciatively.

"Although he has gotten stronger since then," she added with a chuckle.

Anger regarded her, unsure of what to say. His mouth just hung open, taking in what Joy had spoken of him.

It felt...nice.

The red and yellow emotions glanced at each other for a few moments, before Joy finally let his arm drop.

"Okay, that settles that!" she said cheerfully. "So, Dottie, is there anything here you like about Anger's room?"

The child was quiet as she peered at their surroundings. The red reminded her of the color from Rainbow Unicorn's mane, only Anger's was more crimson and, ironically, peaceful to the eyes.

To add more to the irony, the red walls seemed almost tranquil. As if this place could be a meditation room of some sort, or where someone could go to relax. Anger's bedroom was perhaps the only place where he could _really_ vent out. Probably using his exercise equipment to let out some steam and toughen himself up more than he already was.

Dottie was rather intrigued by the equipment, especially the round weights that laid beside the workout bench. She also noticed that next to it were dumbbells, organized from heaviest to lightest.

Her eyes drew toward the heavier ones, which sported colors different from the red walls. She raced over and gawked at the heaviest set, which were colored yellow.

"These look so heavy!" she said with awe. "You can really lift these?"

Anger grinned smugly, waltzing over beside the child he was yet to win over.

"'Course I can," he said proudly. "I work out with those babies every day."

"Um, isn't it kind of dangerous if those things fall?" Fear couldn't help but ask.

"Relax, stick man," Anger said, rolling his eyes. He didn't notice that Dottie was reaching for one of the yellow dumbbells. "I've never gotten injured just for working out, alright?"

However, unlike Joy who was about to call to him frantically, he failed to notice that Dottie had tried to bring the dumbbell down. But her tiny hands and minuscule strength were unable to do it properly. Fortunately, she managed to be out of the way when the workout device fell.

Right on Anger's foot.

 **"YEOW!"**

Dottie leapt back as Anger managed to kick the equipment off, his head spouting fire as he clutched at his aching foot. He fought back uttering curse words for her sake.

"Ugh, dang it! Dumb dumbbell!" he grunted fiercely.

Dottie winced in sympathy, feeling bad for what she had done but giggling slightly at his wording.

"Don't, ow, pick up things that are too heavy!" Anger scolded, cooling off but still angrily clutching his foot. "You could've gotten hurt!"

Fear yelped. "He's right, that was a very dangerous thing to do!"

Dottie gulped, guiltily thinking it over. Her mom would be upset if she resumed performing actions like that.

"Sorry," she said shamefully.

"Aw, that's okay," Joy said, coming over and patting Dottie on the back before looking at Anger. "You'll get over it soon!"

The red emotion just grunted in reply.

"Anyway," Fear quickly said, ushering the group out before anything or anyone was set on fire. "How about we go see my room?"

"Great idea!" Joy encouraged.

"Is it filled with safety signs?" Dottie asked innocently.

Fear couldn't help but grin proudly as they reached the purple door. "Not quite, even better!"

When the group entered the room, Dottie was met with a room of similar hues to the rest of Headquarters. A bookshelf lined the wall near his bed, organized by subject of potential dangers—including earthquakes.

Hanging from the ceiling was a sprinkler system in case of fire hazards, and any potential sharp points around his room were covered in plastic. When the child's eyes rested on his patchwork-quilted bed, she noticed that it seemed like it was made of the most comfortable material imaginable.

Over by his closet to the far right of the room, there was also a helmet, a heat shield, a paper bag, and anything that might be needed for an emergency.

"Wow," Dottie murmured in awe. "You have more fire drill stuff than my classroom does!"

"Seriously, school literally exists inside Riley's head?" Disgust whispered questionably toward Sadness.

"Uh-huh," he blue emotion nodded quietly.

"You can never be too prepared!" Fear proclaimed as he approached the child, holding a purple helmet.

Before Dottie knew it, he strapped it around her head, adjusting so it wouldn't be tight on the child. Once he was done, she looked up at him in confusion.

"Uh, Fear?" Joy said, glancing from Dottie to him. "Is that really necessary?"

The purple emotion chuckled rather forcefully. "Oh, Joy...we've seen a pattern here."

He reached over and picked up the small child, which immediately delighted Dottie. Fear carefully carried her to the bed, in which he sat her down, while making sure she wouldn't be able to fall off the edge.

"No accident is going to happen in _my_ room!" he declared. "I've already established a list of possibly dangers for any visitor that comes here!"

"Oh, boy..." Anger muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Do you always make a list for everything?" Dottie asked curiously, hands on her lap.

"Never too careful!" he told her with a smile, before quickly searching and coming back with a big stack of papers. Joy almost assumed those were from Riley's first day of school.

Dottie picked up the top one before reading it. "What's spontaneous combustion?"

"Something Riley will _never_ do," he assured her, taking the paper from Dottie's hands. "At least, I hope not..."

Dottie gazed around the room. "So what do you do in your room? What do you play?"

"Oh, just my favorite game," he told her cheerfully. "The Staying Safe game!" He picked up a nearby pencil before tapping it atop the pile of papers. "I sit down and carefully read a book-while also wearing protective finger gear to avoid paper cuts. And then usually I do a bit of reorganizing when something looks a little out of place, which happens every day." He beamed. "That's what I do with my free time!"

The child raised a brow at him. Although the purple walls intrigued her just as much as the emotion's complexion, she couldn't help but realize...it was rather too safe that it was considerably _dull_.

"That sounds boring," she admitted with a drawl.

Disgust's eyes lit up, wondering if Fear was slowly losing his fan. She bit over her smile, crossing her fingers as she noticed the slight hurt on the other emotion's face.

"Unfave him...unfave him..." she muttered quietly to herself.

"Okay, I admit..." he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe it's not exactly fun, but it is safe."

He sat on the bed beside Dottie, while making sure the impact didn't cause her to tumble off. He smiled pleasantly in her direction, relieved the helmet fit her perfectly.

"You're the guest," he told her, "so what do you prefer for fun? And please let it be something a little safe." he added timidly.

Dottie grinned. Before Fear knew it, she quickly climbed to the center of the bed. Just as the purple emotion was about to call her, she began jumping. The springs were much bouncier than she thought, bringing her higher with each dive into the mattress. The bed creaked every time her feet landed and lifted off, and she was getting higher with her efforts.

"Jumping on the bed is totally safe!" she insisted, her brown locks swinging up and down as she did.

Fear gasped in alarm, frantically trying to place himself as a barrier between the child and the floor. In case she fell, at least she would land on him and nothing else. He mentally chided himself for not bubble-wrapping around the floor of his bed.

"No, no, that's not safe!" he screamed.

"Aw, come on!" Dottie said, grinning and only seeming to kick off more from the mattress to propel herself higher. "I do it a lot!"

"Well, that's dangerous!" the purple emotion protested frantically, his heart pounding every time Dottie hit the mattress. "You could fall and hit your head and get a concussion!"

"She's got the helmet," Anger grumbled.

For once, Dottie grinned at something Anger mentioned, while looking at Fear with an expression of delight on her face. "He's right," she laughed, "you gave me this helmet!"

Fear nervously played with his fingers, his entire body trembling. "But you could break an arm! Or a leg! Or—"

Dottie smirked. "You'll have to get me first!" she sang in a teasing tone, bouncing more toward the opposite side of the bed.

Joy chuckled while Sadness smiled, same for Anger and Disgust as they watched their purple companion fret more than he usually did. They all had expected some point during her stay that Dottie would give Fear a hard time. This was better than they imagined, a personal memory for all of them to cherish.

Fear frantically climbed up the bed, nearly stumbling a bit from the springiness that was making him lose his balance. He frowned in disapproval as Dottie kept bouncing, laughing at his attempts while he began to pursue her.

"Okay, that's enough!" he barked, trying his best to sound like a stern parent. "You are getting off this danger zone, young lady!"

He stretched his arms forward to grab Dottie, intending to get her off the bounciness of the bed and onto the safety of solid ground. Fear tried to handle the springs under his feet as he reached for her, failing every attempt and earning another laugh in the face.

However, after the fifth, he finally took ahold of the child. She giggled, trying to squirm out of his grip. Unfortunately, his momentum from the springing did cause them to tumble off the bed. Luckily, Dottie was perfectly fine, in fact, grinning as if she had just soared over California in one jump. Not only did the helmet protect her head, but Fear helped cushion her fall.

Dottie beamed, getting off of Fear and smiling. "See? That was fun!"

Fear winced and rubbed his head, picking himself up from the floor. He had to admit, for what he felt was carelessness on her part, Dottie really was a good kid.

"Y-You're okay, right?" he asked worriedly.

The child beamed up at him and, to Fear's surprise, hugged him. "I think I should be asking if you're okay." She paused. "You are, right?"

Fear laughed gently. He may not have had much experience with kids, aside from looking out for Riley, but Dottie really wasn't all that bad. Perhaps a bit reckless in his opinion, but sweet.

"I'm fine," he responded, giving her an affectionate gaze.

"Yay!" Dottie giggled, hugging him tighter. "I wouldn't want you getting hurt! That wouldn't be good at all!"

"Hey," Anger said, his voice sounding accusing, "you didn't seem nearly as concerned when that dumbbell slammed on my foot!"

Fear looked at him, trying not to appear smug as Dottie kept holding him. "You were like a fire hazard then, of course she didn't!"

"Hey," Joy said, hoping to refrain Anger from punching the bow tie off the purple emotion, "she's good, we're good!"

Sadness casually walked over to Dottie, blue eyes looming over every part of the child, making sure she was, indeed, alright.

"She's good," the blue emotion declared in that usual mellow tone of hers. Sadness turned to Fear. "Nice save."

The purple emotion smiled sheepishly, feeling rather pleased despite having nearly suffered a concussion from falling.

"That was really fun," Dottie said with a giggle, allowing Sadness to help her remove the helmet. "HQ is even more fun than the playground!"

Joy winced through her smile. "Uh, yeah...let's not get ahead of ourselves..."

"What? I took care of Bing Bong's bag, didn't I?" the child asked, showing off the accessory that hung from her shoulder. "And Sadness' memory core." She opened it, revealing the orb that undoubtedly belonged to the blue emotion.

"And that's very responsible of you," Sadness told her.

"Why do I get the feeling she's going to take that home with her?" Disgust whispered to Joy. "If she, like, stays with us again, she might take more orbs Sadness made."

Joy rolled her eyes, chuckling at Disgust's assumption. Last time the yellow emotion recalled someone taking memory orbs without their acknowledgement, it was in Long Term Memory when they met-

She stopped right there. Joy didn't want to cry again, especially while Dottie was becoming more delighted every moment. And she doubted the child would take orbs from them without asking! All she wanted to do was play with them, and then afterward she would let them be!

"Hey, Sadness!" she called cheerfully, turning to the blue emotion. "Isn't it your turn to show Dottie your room?"

"What?" the teardrop-shaped being said, quickly lifting her head in surprise.

The child's eyes widened excitedly. "Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. "Saving the best for last!" She reached over and took Sadness' hand. "Can we do it right now? Can we? Can we?"

Although nervousness was evident in the blue emotion's features, Sadness, nevertheless, slowly nodded.

"Sure," she said quietly. "Although I don't know if it's as interesting as everyone else's..."

"Oh, come on!" Joy encouraged, patting her friend on the shoulder. "I bet it's super interesting!"

The blue emotion was yet to believe so in herself. While she had confidence in aiding Riley and producing dreams now, her room was yet to be on the list.

But Sadness still led them out of Fear's room, the purple emotion closing the door behind him as they followed. The final door was at the very end of the hall. From afar, it looked like a waterfall, its gentle blue tone pleasing to the eyes. But once up close, Dottie couldn't have been more in awe.

For a moment, the child thought the blue exterior was made of stone, the door so shiny it could possibly be a portal to a more magical realm. The golden-plated knob made it look like any regular entrance. But the overall design, especially as she noticed white marks along the side, reminded her of raindrops that fell so gracefully on glass.

Maybe Joy wasn't the only painter among the emotions.

Dottie wheeled toward Sadness, her grin so wide it could stretch across the hall. The blue emotion managed a shy smile before she reached toward the knob.

As soon as she turned it, she carefully pushed the door open so Dottie would enter first. The child ran inside, almost expecting to walk into a place far more spectacular than Imagination Land.

What she received made her jaw drop.

Joy and the other emotions simply gawked, the walls of cerulean majestic to their eyes.

But it wasn't just the tones of the walls that made them gaze in astonishment. The fact that the bedroom was large, much larger than the size of the control area of HQ, was what amazed them even more.

And that didn't stop there. While Joy had assumed most of Sadness' bedroom would consist of a bed, a coffee table, and a whole library for the emotion to enjoy reading, it was _beyond_ what she expected.

The bed, which Disgust could not stop staring at, was a queen-sized four poster furniture. The columns that held the rectangular panel were made of glistening antique wood. Royal blue curtains were held back, probably having been released at times for Sadness to hide within her own slumber. The beddings consisted of the same incredibly light arctic color as Sadness' sweater.

Only it seemed like the beddings almost sparkled, as if snowflakes had been sprinkled on them...

The pillows, which were as large and squishy as a giant marshmallow, were softly toned blue. As if big blueberries were the things Sadness was willing to rest her head on, especially the rectangular ones that reminded Joy of the blueberry pop-tarts Riley liked to eat.

Just as Disgust daringly reached a hand toward the beddings, which shone in her green eyes, she immediately turned to regard the rest of her blue friend's room.

She didn't realize that the floor beneath them was of polished mahogany wood, and violet carpet that laid before a hearth and fireplace. Dark green furniture like a couch and few fancy recliner chairs stood in front of it, along with an antique coffee table where a manual laid.

Further across the room were other wondrous things. On the side was a slightly open door, and within they could see it was Sadness' private bathroom. They didn't need to go inside to see how completely flawless it was, with its noticeable tiled floors and marble walls, and a tub that looked like it could also work as a jacuzzi. Disgust nearly drooled as she gawked at the vanity mirror where bulbs hung over it, no doubt to brighten up Sadness' complexion every time she gazed at herself.

As the emotions followed behind Dottie to tour the bedroom, they looked up to realize the hanging lamps were teardrop-shaped. Yet the design was gorgeous, with bright lights that lit the room more than even Joy's glow.

There was just so much space in here that they could fit aisles of Riley's memories in it!

Sure enough, there was, indeed, a library that was right beside the fireplace. Complete with a ladder since the shelves nearly reached the ceiling. And on the opposite side of it was, to their amazement, a harp. The golden exterior glistened, with a small stool beside it, which indicated that the device wasn't merely for show.

And just when they thought it was Sadness' significant instrument, they noticed that right beside a _floral display area of beautiful potted flowers_ , was a piano. Not the kind Riley had been doomed to attempt with when she first took lessons, but a much grander type. It was large and jet black, just like the types shown in movies, and so fancy.

No doubt Sadness was a master at playing it. Unlike Riley, whom Joy recalled no longer harbored the memories of even how to play a piano anymore. Those orbs had faded horribly as she recalled; maybe it was for the best that they had been sent to the Memory Dump.

Dottie's eyes widened as she sat herself at the bench, gazing at the white and black keys in front of her. The instrument was so big she felt even smaller than she already was!

"You play piano?" she asked, turning to Sadness.

"A little," the blue emotion murmured, tracing her fingers over the craftsmanship. "I tend to mess up on a few notes sometimes."

Dottie's fingers lightly pressed a couple of keys, unable to produce the tune she had in mind.

"Mommy says I should take up piano when I get older," she sighed. "It looks hard, and I don't know how to play any instruments."

"How about accordion?" Joy suggested before Sadness could even speak. A wide grin played on the yellow emotion's lips, recalling the moments she had with her very own instrument.

Dottie cringed at the thought. "I was kind of hoping for something that played sweet music. Like the harp Sadness has."

While Joy's shoulders slumped with disappointment, Sadness led Dottie towards the other instrument. Sitting on the stool, the blue emotion plucked a few strings for the child to witness. And she produced a tune Dottie had _imagined_ she would make.

"That was pretty," she murmured, laying against Sadness' side.

The blue emotion smiled tenderly, before resuming a note on her harp. The others gathered around, even more in awe by this gift they had no idea Sadness had, especially Joy.

11 years and it was only now they knew just _this much_ about her...

And the room! Even though Disgust was the fashionista, Sadness had far better taste in terms of interior design!

Fear stood close by the harp, watching as Sadness continued playing. He never felt more at peace in his life, especially after Dottie nearly got hurt in his own room. Seeing Sadness' bedroom, and these talents he never learned she had, just seemed to put all his worries on a backseat.

After Sadness had finished, she pushed a strand of her slightly long blue hair back before smiling at Dottie. Taking the child's hand, she led her further down the room, the others following behind.

"You know, sometimes when I feel really sad," Sadness began, "I read. Or, like Joy, I can paint, but I usually draw. Or focus on my flowers." she added sheepishly. "I like a little indoor gardening."

Dottie nodded, completely enamored by everything in this bedroom, more than the other rooms combined.

"Or I could simply just cuddle with my dolls."

The child's eyes widened. "Dolls? You have dolls?"

"You have dolls?" Joy asked Sadness in surprise.

The blue emotion smiled pleasantly before leading them toward an alcove where shelves and cabinets had a variety on display. The toys looked similar to some Riley had when she was younger, although most consisted of what Riley had watched over the years.

Not all of them were human-based, some were of the animal variety, or simply little yellow guys with adorable blue overalls. There was a pony-based one with a violet horn, but that was crushed between plush vehicles with faces.

Just when they thought Sadness' collection consisted of one focus, her displays were even more varied. For Joy, she assumed Sadness' would consider plush horses and that was it, but the blue emotion had dragons mixed with snowmen and even cute vegetables.

Dottie let out a squeal of delight before throwing herself into a nearby display, sending dolls onto the floor. Fear almost wanted to call out that Sadness possibly put a lot of work into organizing them, but the blue emotion's smile lessened his worry. Meanwhile, the others decided to explore them as well, picking up random plushes and wonder since when Sadness had an interest for them.

At least she and Riley had something in common.

"Ooh!" Dottie exclaimed as she dove into a pile of stuffed animals. "I like this one!" she cried, pulling out a cucumber with a goofy face on its front. "No, wait!" She quickly tossed it aside, in exchange for a snowman with a top hat and blue scarf. "This one! No, wait!" She dropped it and found a little, round-shaped green monster with tiny horns and a big, adorable greenish blue eye. "This one!"

One by one she went through plushes she would temporarily deem the greatest of all. But with every cute doll came in another, and Dottie wasn't sure which to choose at this point.

"For goodness sake," Anger muttered, "you can't declare all of them your favo—"

The red emotion was stopped by a nudge from Joy, who frowned slightly at him. "Be nice, she loves it!"

Anger fell silent, resigning himself to watching. As much as he thought the child's hyperactive logic was a bit silly, even he couldn't deny that it was pretty cute.

Dottie hugged yet another doll close to her chest, a teardrop next to a cloud. "This one's adorable!"

"I like that one," Sadness said with a tender smile. "Even the clouds have comfort sometimes."

Joy couldn't help but smile at her friend's words. She had never realized before just how empathic her blue friend was...likely because she hadn't given her the attention she deserved. The yellow emotion swore she would find some way to make it up to Sadness eventually. And seeing her friend's face actually seem to glow at how much Dottie appreciated her room, and everything about her, caused Joy to smile as well.

Dottie then pulled another from the shelf, a little apart from more of the plush dolls, this one appearing a bit different from the others. This one seemed to be made of carved wood, and presented itself almost like the form of a woman merged into a mountain.

"Oooh, this one's pretty!"

Sadness nodded. "There's a key on the back you can turn."

Dottie turned the figure over, and noticed the golden key that shone on the side. Curious, Dottie gave it a few turns. A slow tune began to play, oddly soothing, and a song emitted from the doll:

 _I have a dream,_

 _I hope will come true._

 _That you're here with me,_

 _And I'm here with you._

 _I hope that the earth, sea, and sky up above-a,_

 _Will send me someone to lava..._

Dottie grinned, stroking the figure before hugging it close to her.

"Now I like this one a whole lot!" she said with a giggle.

"Wasn't that the thing from that stupid movie- _ACK!_ " Anger was about to mention. However, Joy thumped her hip against his side, wanting him to keep quiet.

"It's one of my favorites," Sadness murmured, gazing at the figure lovingly. "I got it as soon as Riley watched the preview for it. The doll is beautiful, right?"

"It sure is!" Dottie agreed, before handing it back to the blue emotion.

She wanted to keep it, but realized it was far more precious and memorable to Sadness than ever for the 5-year-old. Looking around at the wide assortment of dolls, the amount exceeded beyond even her own collection at home! Yet, if she could compare, Sadness' were far better, and much cuddlier!

Dottie bent down and searched through more that fell on the floor, finding among them a gray bunny with a blue suit and a brightly red fox with a weird green shirt and tie. Nevertheless, they were cute, and Dottie couldn't stop herself from hugging them. Dropping them in search of others to hold, she glanced over at the display cabinet where each one was organized and stood up for show.

However, her eyes drew to a certain doll that seemed to stand out. It was squished against the side panel, hardly being noticed with other dolls in its way. Dottie crawled over and carefully tugged it out, spilling other plush toys doing so.

Holding it in front of her, she noticed it was a turquoise blue teardrop with a face. It didn't smile, its lips thinned like a straight line, and a blank slate of an expression. Arms and legs protruded from it, slightly small in comparison to its curved frame.

"That's one of my very first," Sadness explained. "Doesn't look that cute, huh?"

"No, it is!" Dottie insisted hugging it close. "I love this most of all! Even more than all the other ones!"

Watching the child embrace the doll very close, Sadness slowly made a smile.

"You can have it if you want," she told Dottie softly.

Dottie's eyes flew open, looking in awe at the blue emotion she admired so much. "Really? I can have it?"

Sadness actually smiled, giving a slight nod, appearing cheered up at seeing the young child so happy. "You seem to really like it, and I have a lot anyway."

Dottie let out a squeal. "Thank you, Sadness!" She hugged the small doll to her chest, then practically tackled Sadness in her enthusiasm. "Thank you, thank you!"

Sadness nearly had the wind knocked out of her, but managed to keep herself upright and hug Dottie back all the same. Dottie really did remind her a little of Riley when she was around that age. Seemed the roles given to them in Dream Productions were well-chosen.

"You're welcome," she said lovingly, the rare smile still on her face.

Dottie looked happier than ever. "Mommy's gonna be happy when I show her!" She broke away from Sadness's grasp for a moment, beaming all the while. "She's gonna love it!"

It was then Dottie's enthusiastic bouncing slowed somewhat. She stared at the group of emotions.

"Dottie?" Joy asked. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The child was frowning slightly as she looked up at them. "I don't have to go back home yet, do I?"

Sadness reached over and gently stroked the child's brown locks. Dottie leaned into her touch, clutching Bing Bong's bag with the core memory inside as well as her new doll.

"Your mom said you'll be staying for the night," the blue emotion reminded her soothingly.

"I know..." the little girl moaned. "But then tomorrow morning I'll have to leave! But I don't want to leave, I want to stay here with you!"

Sadness carefully pulled Dottie into her arms, embracing her before looking the child in the face.

"I know you want to stay here, sweetie," she told her. "But you have school."

"Seriously," Disgust whispered toward Joy. "Those actually exist _here_?"

"And you can always visit and stay over another time," Sadness pointed out, offering Dottie a soft smile.

The child's eyes lit up at the thought. "Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Really?" Fear asked nervously, glancing at the blue emotion.

"Of course," Sadness said, turning from the purple nerve to Dottie. "And besides, Headquarters isn't the only place there is. I mean, outside these walls is a whole new world."

She paused for a moment, recalling how being out there by accident had been the very first time she explored Riley's mind.

True, it had been scary at first, and Sadness had immediately grown hopeless and helpless. But if having read those manuals all these years taught her anything, it was that everything out there made everything within HQ seem rather...boring.

And Dottie, Flora, Rainbow Unicorn, and everyone else she met were far from it.

The little girl hugged the doll close to her. "We'll really see each other tomorrow night, won't we? When we make another dream for Riley, right?"

Sadness patted her head, blue eyes tender as paint strokes on a canvas.

"Of course," she promised.

Joy smiled, satisfied to see how well the blue emotion had dealt with this. She seemed to have such a way with children. But Joy was sure she did as well, even though she wasn't Dottie's favorite.

After all, Joy had been there for Riley ever since she was a baby, and had seen Riley grow up along with Meg since even before Dottie was born. Taking care of kids and getting them to like her could be easy!

Joy couldn't help but look over at Sadness as the young child gazed admiringly at her. Just because Sadness was the most empathetic of them, didn't mean empathy had to be everything, right?

Maybe she could at least help both Dottie and Sadness find more fun. Then she could be Dottie's cool fun aunt or something.

Joy had to admit she liked that thought. If she herself couldn't have a cool parental figure to help guide her, maybe she could at least serve as that to Dottie.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Disgust said, breaking Joy out of her thoughts and causing the others to look at her, "where's Dottie gonna sleep?"

"Ooh, I'd like to sleep in Sadness's room!" Dottie said instantly.

Anger crossed his arms. "Hey, who made you boss?"

Dottie frowned back, feeling like she had another reason not to like the red brick. She stuck her tongue out at him, earning a shocked expression from Anger.

"Oh don't be such a stick-in-the-mud!" Joy chided, giving Dottie a smile that she hoped came across as kind as her blue friend, though she wasn't entirely sure if she was nailing it. "Of course you can stay with Sadness!"

The child's sparkling eyes lit up like the memory core she kept in her never-ending bag. She rushed past Joy, throwing herself against Sadness with a tight embrace. The blue emotion nearly tumbled back, but she kept her balance and accepted the girl.

The envy came back, just for a moment, but Joy managed to push it down. The child wanted to sleep in Sadness' room, not hers. And Joy doubted Dottie would prefer a bathtub to a queen's bed. Especially with all the stuffed animals she could hug and cuddle with.

The yellow emotion did smile, happy to see Dottie was satisfied. Maybe she would never get as many hugs as Sadness, but one would come once in a while for Joy, she was sure of it.

"Can I, Sadness?" Dottie asked, gazing up at the blue emotion. "Can I? Can I? Can I?"

The aforementioned teardrop was quiet for a moment, before gently caressing the child's brown lock's.

"Well, sure..." Sadness murmured. "I mean, I don't mind. I, uh, never really thought you would want to sleep here...I don't know if it's as great as Fear's..."

"Are you kidding here?" Disgust intervened, a stuffed bunny dangling from her fist. "Like, seriously? Are you kidding right now?"

"Yeah, um, despite the lack of helmets provided and the fact that bed is just asking for a springy disaster..." Fear added, shifting his gaze over to the queen-sized mattress across the room. "I really think this would be more Dottie's liking."

"She's less dangerous here than in all our other rooms, that's for sure," Anger muttered, rubbing his elbows.

"And Joy sleeps in a tub," Disgust added briskly. "So no."

Sadness blinked at them before gazing down at Dottie. The child had never let her go, rubbing her cheek against the emotion's belly. And the way she held that doll to her body as well.

That and Bing Bong's bag. She just held onto them both with such innocence and care.

"Of course," the teardrop-shaped individual crooned as she offered a small, tender smile.

"Yay!" Dottie cheered, flinging the doll she was given upward before bringing it back down.

Joy beamed before trotting over to the child.

"So," she began cheerfully, bending down to her level. "Now that we got your room settled, what do you want to do now?"

"Can I play with the orbs again?" Dottie pleaded. "And I want to see what else Riley is going to do!"

"Well, you heard the girl!" the yellow emotion said, turning to the others. "Come on, let's go check on Riley!"

As she took the lead, she extended her hand out behind her, awaiting Dottie to take it. However, as she peered over her shoulder, her excitement deflated a little when the child slipped her palm into Sadness'.

For a moment, Joy lost her ability to smile. However, she pushed it aside as she led everyone out of the bedroom.

Like a hug from Dottie, holding her hand might take some time before it occurred. Those would probably never happen excessively for Joy. After all, she was not Sadness.  
_

After Dottie was sat on the floor with some memories, the emotions reached the console to see how Riley was doing.

Their kid had finished lunch, trash scattered on her tray and completely ignored. Riley sucked the last remains of soda from her straw, shaking every so often to get a bit more liquid.

"Ugh, watery soda is the worst..." Disgust tried not to gag.

Once the cup had eventually been finished and left among the trash, Riley merely stared at her tray. She didn't bother to pick up her phone to play apps, just let her face fall with her hands in her pockets. The cookie was churning a little in her belly right now, probably too much chocolate, but she didn't care.

"This is so boring!" Disgust gripped. "So bored I could just barf!"

"Don't say that!" Fear cried. "What if Riley throws up her lunch? It'll be embarrassing! And she's wearing a _black_ jacket, that is not going to be pretty!"

Anger frowned before shoving him aside. "The only way a chocolate chip cookie is going ain't up, you dimwit! It goes down. Way down."

Joy tried not to snort. "Wow, Anger, you really know how to get to the 'end' of that joke, am I right?"

"I wasn't trying to make a joke!" the red emotion snapped, albeit not wanting not to blow up too hard in her face.

"Well, either way, you were being funny right now," the yellow emotion giggled.

"Do I look like I'm laughing?" Anger growled. "Because I ain't!"

He grunted before throwing his hands up in the air, startling Fear. Disgust just rolled her eyes while Joy merely smiled, able to see right through the red emotion.

"There nothing I hate more than lame jokes!" Anger shouted. "Absolutely nothing!"

At that moment, an orb had been picked up by the recall tube. A familiar golden sphere immediately played on the screen.

 _TripleDent gum will make you smile..._

 **"EXCEPT THAT!"** Anger roared, the top of his head becoming alight with flames to the point he looked like a living campfire.

Dottie, however, immediately looked up, recognizing the tune and singing along. "-will make you smile! TripleDent Gum, it lasts a while!"

Anger stared at her in disbelief. "Wait, you know this song?"

"Know it?" Dottie asked with delight. "I memorized it! I love this song so much!"

Anger blinked. "You are kidding... _AGH_!".

The fire manifested once more, but it simmered out, the red emotion merely clenching his fists as the annoyingly familiar jingle began to play again. He instantly slammed a button to send the offending memory back down to Long Term Memory.

Dottie narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey, I wanted to hear the rest of that song!"

"Well, I don't!" Anger retorted. "This isn't meant to be happy fun-song-time, and even if it was, that song is so da—"

"Hey, Anger," Joy said, speaking up and practically dancing over to him in an attempt to win Dottie's favor. "Come on, lighten up a bit, okay? Dottie's our guest!"

Anger glanced from Dottie to Joy before finally throwing up his hands in irritation. "Agh, fine! But if you start trying to have us all sing 'Be Our Guest', I'm out!"

"Not like you could sing it, anyway," Disgust commented with a smirk.

"Quit it, broccoli—"

"Ookkaaayyy, I have a better idea!" Joy quickly said. "How about instead we see if Riley wants to sight-see, go to a museum or something, feel the wind blowing in her face, that sounds like fun, right?"

The others stared.

Dottie stepped forward a little. "I haven't seen much of what San Fran is like..."

"Oh, San Francisco is a _big_ place," Fear informed the child. "Big and really scary!" he added tensely.

"Well, sure it's a huge city and really different from our small town back in Minnesota," Sadness stepped in. "But we've hardly seen much since we came here."

"Except for that pizza place that serves gross garbage," Disgust mentioned. She shifted her gaze over to Anger. "Although we saw a little more thanks to him."

Before the red emotion could retort, Fear intervened.

"We hardly saw anything because we were too busy looking for the bus stop!" the purple emotion cried. "I was freaking out the whole time, thinking there was a bear or something out there to get us!"

Dottie blinked up at him before turning back to Joy and Sadness. The former shrugged.

"Well, yeah..." the yellow emotion muttered. "I guess you can say we were a little busy to see anything. But the beach was really cool, right?"

The others murmured in agreement. So far everything they had seen of the big city had been impressive. And that food shack at the beach sort of redeemed their judgment with better pizza than at Yeast of Eden.

Dottie turned back toward the screen. After having left the beach, Riley found herself amidst so many people walking around, shopping, seeing the sights, followed by a little traffic occurring as well.

The Mind Worker child took the time to glance at all the stores and restaurants Riley regarded on her travel. They were so fancy and beautiful, not to mention some with an Asian theme that was incredibly exotic. Dottie had to smile at one particular tea shop with a giant cat on its roof.

The people around Riley were especially interesting. In Minnesota, she had seen memory orbs of snow, nature, and moments with a few people in Riley's life.

Everything in San Francisco replaced the natural settings with something more lively. And fun. Being around people always made Dottie feel more secure.

And, boy, were there a lot of people beautiful in their own way as well! Like that one tanned woman in the light blue top and shorts, jogging her way past Riley with headphones on. Her dark hair swished back and forth, earning the eyes of a few men in her path.

When Dottie glanced back at the emotions, she realized the woman had earned Anger's eyes as well. The red emotion grinned a little at the imagery, only to return back to the conversation with the others.

"Okay, so what do we do?" he asked gruffly. "Stand around and just watch people walk all over us?"

"We could go shopping," Disgust mentioned. "Maybe her mom wouldn't mind Riley using her card just a few more times. I mean, her parents owe her big time."

"Absolutely not!" Fear protested. "We can't do that to them and you know it!"

"Guys, guys!" Joy tried to cut in. "I'm sure if we just come up with more positive suggestions, we could figure out how we could plan the rest of our day."

Sadness merely stood there and watched as they all bickered. Sighing, she turned back to Dottie who looked at her rather worriedly. The blue emotion offered her a gentle smile, one that was wary and assured her that this often happened.

"What do you think Riley should do?" she asked the child.

Dottie pondered before turning back to the screen. Down the street, there was a souvenir shop where tourists were present. Outside laid a slot where brochures were displayed.

"We could look at those," the child said. "And figure out what's good to see."

Sadness nodded, smiling appreciatively at the idea. "Sounds good. Great thinking, Dottie."

The little girl beamed proudly. As soon as Sadness approached the console, the others stopped talking. They observed in question as the blue emotion worked some switches.

Soon, Riley's eyes wandered toward the box. Approaching the exterior of the store and picking up a brochure, she opened it, showing everyone a list of features and sights significant to San Francisco.

Dottie's eyes widened as she noticed a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Oooh!" she squealed. "Let's go there!" she pleaded, pointing at the picture. "I want to see the bridge! Let's go there!"

"Oh, great idea!" Joy said. "I mean, I still remember the first time we saw. It was amazing!"

"Amazing?" Fear argued. "Those beams could have fallen right on top of us!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Anger groaned. "If that were the case, people wouldn't drive on it!"

"Doesn't mean we can't get a good view though!" Joy exclaimed, hurrying over to the console. "We ought to—"

"A-Actually," Sadness said, "I should probably do this."

Joy stared at her.

"Riley needs her healing," Sadness pointed out, looking at the brochure through their girl's eyes. "Let me do this."

Joy looked at her carefully for a moment, then finally sighed. She understood the blue emotion now, and knew where she was coming from, but it still hurt all the same.

"Okay," the yellow emotion finally said, trying to maintain her usual happy demeanor despite this. "To the bridge!"  
_

"Why's it called the Golden Gate Bridge?" Dottie asked as Riley headed over to an outlook that was said to have the best view of the sight. "It looks orangey-red."

"I don't know, Golden State, I guess?" Disgust shrugged. "Not really a fitting name."

Eventually, Riley stepped off the path and headed up toward a nearby cliff, stepping closer toward the edge.

"Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall!" Fear said anxiously, fighting the urge to rush toward the console and guide her away.

Anger punched him in the side, and they finally stopped debating enough to look at the view.

Despite the circumstances, with the sun beginning to set, the beings in Headquarters, and Riley herself, watched in awe.

The bridge, despite its distance, seemed so large it towered over everything, the cars beneath it looking like tiny ants. But how big the structure towered wasn't all that left them in intrigue.

With the sun's setting rays shining in the sky, the light caught on the bright metal of the bridge and did, in fact, make it appear almost golden.

"Wow..." Fear murmured.

"It's beautiful!" Dottie exclaimed.

Disgust smiled. "Now that's a Golden Gate Bridge if I ever saw one."

Joy looked over at Sadness, and noticed that even the blue emotion was smiling at the sight. And was beckoning Joy herself toward the console.

Carefully walking forward, Joy and Sadness both gave their console input at simultaneously. The device glowed yellow, with blue angelically merging like two rivers.

Riley couldn't help but smile as she gazed at the bridge.

However, it was a sad smile. One that resulted in her eyes nearly tearing up. Fortunately for her, no one was around to notice a young girl on the verge of crying. So the tears slowly slid down her cheeks.

"We're crying!" Fear exclaimed frantically.

Dottie's eyes widened before turning to Joy and Sadness. The former gave the latter a nod, her heart slightly heavy but satisfied with the result.

The tears stopped. Just a couple fell before Riley's eyes began to dry. She wiped a sleeve across her face, sniffing loudly as she kept watching the bridge.

At that moment, everyone in HQ turned around to see a memory orb roll down the rail. The combination of yellow and blue made it gleam brighter than the other spheres, even though it wasn't a core memory like the night before.

Dottie's eyes widened further before she raced toward the rail, watching closely as the memory made its way into the large library. The moment it clinked into its slot, she couldn't stop herself from reaching for it. Fortunately for a small girl like her, the orb had landed in one of the lower shelves, giving her access.

With Bing Bong's bag slung from her shoulder, the little girl held the orb in both her tiny hands. She watched in awe as the image of the Golden Gate Bridge came into view.

And there stood Riley, her hair blowing in the breeze as she watched the historical landmark quietly. Dottie replayed the scene where the smile slowly came to the human's face, widening the one on the Mind Worker's child.

"Okay, seriously," Disgust said before turning to Joy and Sadness. "I did not know we could do that."

Joy smiled sheepishly. "Neither could I."

Sadness adjusted her glasses, blushing a bit. "It's actually possible. Emotions can mix with each other to create other forms of feeling. What Joy and I made was Riley able to feel sad, while retaining some happiness to even it out. It's feeling both sides in order to have more balance."

"Come again?" Fear asked, only getting less than half the information.

Dottie lightly rubbed the orb cradled in her arms. "She's a little sad while thinking of happy thoughts."

The other emotions turned to the 5-year-old, who merely smiled as if the answer had been obvious. Sadness couldn't help but swell with pride, while Joy especially appeared impressed.

"So how does that work again?" Disgust asked aloud. "Do two of us, like, touch the console? At the same time?" Her nose twitched at the thought, her face in a grimace.

"Ain't no way I'm holding hands with Tootsie Roll over here!" Anger spat, jamming a thumb in Fear's direction.

"Oh, please!" the purple emotion fought back, his expression genuinely a sneer. "You and Disgust would be the _last_ people I'd hold hands with!"

While Anger fought the urge to slam his fist across the nerve's stomach, Disgust let out an offended gasp.

"Okay, _rude_!" Disgust snapped, hands on her hips.

"Why, you little..." Anger growled, glaring at Fear.

Sadness mentally sighed, rolling her eyes. Dottie lost interest in the three emotions as she joined the blue one's side. Joy merely ignored the trio, having always been used to the arguments that usually occurred in HQ, especially if she was involved in it.

She smiled, glancing over at Dottie, and especially Sadness. As long as they were okay, the others would be as well.

The blue emotion would never argue severely, only try to make peace and suggest a gentle compromise. The more Joy thought about it, the more she understood why Flora adored her so much.

Sadness really wasn't like the others.

Gazing back at the screen, Riley had moved away from the cliff to sit down on a nearby rock. Folding her arms to rid the slight chill, she watched as cars entered and exited out of the bridge. Its orange exterior continued to glitter as the sun beamed down at it.

Back in Minnesota, Riley had often seen sunsets after a day of skating, or even when the snow melted and she would roll down hills. She had never seen a sunset like this before. And she had to admit, it was truly majestic.

It made her remember how she and Meg gazed at one last sunset before she had to leave their state...

The smile faded, all her happy thoughts resorting her to feel a heavy heart again.

She missed Meg. But she doubted her best friend's feelings were mutual anymore. Especially when she had that new _teammate_ who could hit a puck better than Riley...

Anger lifted his palm from the console, earning the disapproving looks of the other emotions. Only Sadness appeared supportive, yet slightly uncertain. No one bothered to turn around as a red orb rolled into the mass library.

"What?" the red brick argued. "Oh, like you're not upset Meg's not seeing this with us? She's too busy hanging around with that new jerk that completely replaced our kid in her life!"

Although Dottie was dismayed once again by the attitude of Anger, she raised a brow at the mention of Riley's friend.

"Replaced?" she asked curiously.

"No, no, no!" Joy insisted, sidling beside the child. "No one's getting replaced! So Meg made a new friend right when Riley moved. So what? She's still Riley's best friend!"

"Oh, if she's Riley 'best friend'," Anger said sarcastically, "then how come she hasn't called us since?"

"Um..." Fear stepped in nervously. "Because we slammed the laptop on her?"

"She saw that coming!" Anger roared. "What, just telling us how cool this new girl is while Riley hasn't made a single friend since she got here?"

"Riley doesn't have friends?" Dottie asked, turning to Sadness.

The blue emotion sighed. "We're working on it. It's just complicated."

"Why should it be so hard to make friends?" the little Mind Worker questioned, her expression brightening a little. "I mean, it's not hard for me."

Sadness patted her back. "Well, everything in San Francisco is just so different from where Riley was from."

"And city kids," Fear muttered, shaking his head. "Really acting like they're better than us Midwesterners."

"Well, maybe they are," Disgust huffed. "I mean, you saw the cool girls. Riley doesn't even know how to put on lip gloss without looking like a clown. And her ears aren't even pierced!"

"Really, Disgust?" Joy rolled her eyes. "Are we really going to compare them to Riley?"

"As if we hadn't been judged on the first day," the green emotion mentioned.

While the others were too busy talking and looking at the screen, Dottie raced over the library of memories. She found the red orb that bore the image of the bridge. The moment she touched it, she could practically feel everything Riley had been thinking in the small sphere.

And for a second she felt Riley's pain of missing Meg, wishing she hadn't been replaced.

"Okay, we're so done here!" Disgust said as she made her way into the console. "I think we should go shopping. We've never done that since we got here!"

As the green emotion began to guide Riley, Joy turned in Dottie's direction.

"Dottie, you want to watch Riley go to the stores?" she called.

The little Mind Worker, cradling both the red orb and the mixed one, glanced back at the yellow emotion and smiled. "Sure!"

As soon as Joy returned to the screen, as everyone was else was occupied, Dottie peered down at the orbs in her hands. She cradled them gently, fingers rubbing over the mixed one, then the red one. She pursed her lips for a moment, quickly glancing in the emotions' direction once more. They were all still occupied.

Quietly, she slipped both orbs into Bing Bong's bag.  
_

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _1\. Yes, Joy's bedroom is like a bathroom, and outside its quarters is most definitely Belle's cottage from Beauty ad the Beast. It was featured in the art book for Inside Out, including the painting featuring "Mommy and Me". That answered my question about if emotions really do wonder what it would be like to have parents._**

 ** _2\. Sadness' room is based off of Queen Elsa's room, with a few other things to add to her haven. However, Pixar came up with the harp first, as originally they were going to have the emotions featured with their trademark instruments. It's also featured in the art book. The idea for Sadness' room is basically exemplifying "You can have all this space, all these wonderful things, yet you're still alone. And the only person that respects and listens to you, is just you.". After all, 11 years and she finally starts seeing eye-to-eye with Joy and the others...even if it's starting small from the incident. _**

**_3\. I'm pretty sure you got the obvious references in here. :D_**


End file.
